from Porchlight Books, The Best Big Ideas and New Perspectives
“The interesting is something that you can create,” Besser writes, “without struggle.” The process of building an interesting life is a self-guided one, as no two people will find the same experiences interesting. However, Besser notes that interesting experiences tend to share several key features, including how novel and complex the experience is and how much it impacts one’s emotions.
Figuring out what’s worth pursuing can be as simple as reminiscing on the first time one experienced something—riding the subway, seeing the ocean, leaving home, for example—and examining what makes that moment stand out. “If it’s a memorable [experience],” Besser writes, “it’s likely an interesting one, and it’s one that impacted you . . .
Besser’s book doesn’t ask us to turn our lives upside down and seek an unattainable ideal but to practice nurturing the things we already love and open ourselves up to the people around us. We don’t need to wait for something to change our lives; we have the agency to make them more beautiful right now. “
from the Greater Good Science Center
“In The Art of the Interesting, Lorraine Besser explains the benefits of aiming for an interesting life. Being curious and open, she argues, can improve our sense of connection to others and our feelings of agency in the world. It can help bridge divides by toning down our tendency for black-and-white thinking, and can even help us participate more in activism.
Besser offers concrete tools for engaging with the world this way, such as tapping into your natural curiosity, planning less, and not shying away from challenges. The rewards of doing so are many, she argues—not only for us individually, but for the world.
“You’ll find your best possible life by tapping into your passions, learning what resonates with you and to what degree, and by recognizing what you need to enhance your life and when you need it,” she writes.”