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Visit Samsung.com slash business to learn more. This is optimal living daily episode 2806. Live an interesting life, not just a happy one by Mike of this evergreenhome.com. And I'm just a molecular very own personal narrator.
I read the best blogs that I can get permission from to you covering productivity, minimalism, personal development, all that fun stuff. Without, let's get right to another post and start optimizing your life. Live an interesting life, not just a happy one by Mike of this evergreenhome.com. I've heard people say that boredom is good for us and that we need more of it in our lives.
They rightly observe how addicted we are to our smartphones and how rarely we allow ourselves to feel bored without reaching for instant relief. The problem they suggest is in our burning desire to relieve boredom. But I can't get myself to see our hatred of dullness as a problem. To me, the desire to be interested in something is a sign of health, a sign that the spark of life still exists inside us.
In my eyes, the problem is only trying to satisfy ourselves with mental junk food and shallow alternatives to the real thing. Instead of running away from our restless feelings and towards people, projects or adventures, we're settling for cheap hits of dopamine that pacify our minds instead of truly engaging them. The indirect pursuit of happiness. I believe that more people should strive to live an interesting life, not just a happy one.
I don't, however, believe that leading an interesting life is the highest human value, but I don't think it's a helpful goal for everyone. We'll certainly need to be constrained by other values such as love and responsibility. But the fact is, even the noblest human is going to be self-interested in some ways. It's not a flaw in our design, but part of it.
That aspect of our nature needs somewhere to aim too. In the United States, we mostly aim at being happy. But at the margin, I'd argue, we should direct more of that energy towards leading an interesting life. Happiness is a great byproduct, but a direct pursuit can get you off track as it tends to be too self-conscious.
In order to be happy, you need to want other things even more, things outside yourself. And if you do it right, this newfound happiness can have a positive impact on your health. To be interesting, be interested. The way to start cultivating an interesting life is to be interested.
Being interested and being interesting are two sides of the same coin. If you're someone who reads great literature or travels broadly on a modest budget or takes risks in the pursuit of some great cause, you become a vivid, living example to those around you of what life can be. Being interested in those things makes you an interesting person to others. Because you're interesting and not boring, they'll give you life a second look, and in doing so, see the world in a new way.
You are literally helping to expand the horizon of possibilities they might consider in their own life. The moral weight of curiosity. In my eyes, boredom isn't just a nuisance, it's a moral concern. When my young children complain about being bored, they never also, in that moment, express gratitude.
Boredom and gratitude are like oil and vinegar. But gratitude is possibly the most underrated value. As a Christian, I believe it's our duty to be grateful for the life we've been given. But even for the secular person, gratitude is the surest path to a content and happy life.
Boredom undermines all of this. For these reasons, I think leading an interesting life should be raised in status. By cultivating curiosity about the world around you and then doing things that are interesting and risky, I think you're providing a compelling path beyond the smartphone to defeat Boredom. Not only will this benefit your own life, you become a great example to your family, friends, and others of a mature way to attack this common enemy.
Practical ways to be interested. To end on a practical note, I'd like to share a short list of ways I'm pursuing a more interesting life. There's so much more I'd like to say and will someday, but for now, this will give you a taste of what's possible. Number one, have lots of conversations with a variety of people.
Every person is interesting if you consider their unique context of location, occupation, hobbies, and beliefs. Number two, say yes to new experiences. Vivid real-world experiences lead to great memories and increased appreciation. Number three, travel as often as possible.
Even within the United States, there are so many subcultures to explore and understand. But international travel is my favorite, England, Ireland, and Greece, tell my list. Number four, listen to a wide variety of music. I'd like to listen to different genres and try to appreciate why others enjoy them.
Number five, create or build something. There's nothing interesting about being a passive consumer. Interesting people build things like blogs, companies, nonprofits, families, institutions, and more. Number six, read on a diverse range of topics.
Don't be pigeonholed into a certain type of reader. Add an element of serendipity to the books that end up on your nightstand. Number seven, take risks. The fastest way to be interesting and interested is to put real skin in the game.
Number eight, write in public. Writing forces you to have ideas and try to be interesting. It's also a multiplier of opportunities. Number nine, increase your ambitions.
In the past year, I've realized how complacent our culture has become. To push against this, I'm personally setting bigger goals and doing hard things. And number 10, think independently. My favorite conversation partners are those who I can't already guess their opinions on a given topic.
If you're interested in these ideas, you might also check out the work of Tyler Cowan, who's been an inspiration. Start with his article on whether being interesting is more important than being happy and then the one on 10 ways to live a less complacent life. You just listened to the post titled, Live An Interesting Life, Not Just A Happy One by Mike of ThisEvergreenHome.com. I'm constantly thinking about how to optimize my health, what supplements to take, hours of sleep, what my diet should focus on.
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And head to superpower.com and use code old at checkout for an additional $20 off your membership. They get a mic. Interesting take on boredom. He mentioned that there's one side that says we just need to be fine with it.
But his point is that it's okay to not want to be bored, as long as we don't automatically reach for the things that are sort of fast food for the mind. I can see both sides of this argument personally. To me, being okay with being bored is a really good practice of being comfortable with being uncomfortable. I shared that article last week.
One of my favorites, if you haven't heard it, you can find it in last week's episodes. The practice of meditation is a good example of the practice of being comfortable with being uncomfortable. But I don't think we have to relieve boredom or always be improving or learning or leveling up, being productive and so on. For me, it's more about the middle path, not avoiding boredom altogether, but also not being bored too much.
But in either case, he has some great examples in here of ways to be interested that can be helpful. So hopefully you found it useful. I'll leave it there for today, have a great rest of your day, and I'll see you tomorrow for the Friday show, where you're optimal life. Awaits.