I’m not a very interesting person. That’s why I was excited to read Jessica Hagy‘s altogether indispensable How to Be Interesting, an upbeat guide to injecting more whimsy into your everyday. In a sentence or two, its pithy life lessons manage to paint deceptively simple diagrams and graphs that nudge you out of your comfort zone and into the unknown world filled with infinite possibilities. This is the world where instead of taking vacations, you take chances: to trust your talents, be more creative, and find your own path to happiness. “Be childlike, not childish,” the author writes. And I couldn’t agree more. Read this book:
To limit your regrets.
So you can respect yourself.
In order to banish boredom.
So that you can leave a mark, not a blemish.
And most of all, because you can.
Go Exploring
Explore ideas, places, and opinions. The inside of the echo chamber is where all the boring people hang out.
Talk to Strangers
No one has seen exactly what you have. No one has been to all the places you’ve visited. No one feels just as you do.
Find out why.
Roll the Dice
How far to go? Roll the dice. Seven blocks it is. Take the train? Roll evens and buy the ticket. Two dice can take you practically anywhere and save you lots of time on unimportant decisions. Keep them in your pocket. They’ll help keep things interesting.
Unplug
Without a map, you can find uncharted places. Be unreachable; you can talk to people on your journey. Miss a few updates from others, and discover yourself instead. Your gadgets are tethering you to a world you know very well.
Turn them off to explore new places.
Expose Yourself
To embarrassment.
To ridicule. To risk.
To strange events & conditions.
To WILD IDEAS.
To things that make you cringe.
To strange vistas & new sounds.
Trust me.
It’ll be fun.
Play Devil’s Advocate
Do the opposite of expected. Defend the guilty. Question the pure. See which facts are opinions and which opinions are facts. There are many sides to every story, and they all need to be told.
Take Daily Vacations
If only for a few minutes. Stroll around in the early hours, when the sunlight is a sliver. Walk to a different mailbox. Read magazines in a Laundromat. Shower in the dark. Sip hot chocolate in an alley. Reclaim your spare moments.
Become a Spy
People watch. Eavesdrop.
Lurk. Loiter. Listen.
And you will learn the secret of others.
Every day can be an INTERESTING recon mission.
Sample Flavors
Open your mouth and say nothing, just observe. How does the early morning dew taste? What is the flavor profile of your commute? Does someone else’s detergent remind you of childhood? Why do airports all smell the same?
Tweak the Schedule
Wake up before the alarm. Steal moments between stoplights to compose poems. Sneak off to a moonlit spot when you’d otherwise be watching something on a glowing screen. Work at night and play in the daytime. Carve out hours for the dreams you’ve been putting off.
There’s always time to explore. You get to decide when it is.
Practice Noticing
A faded sign. An eye patch. A broken lock. A photo torn in half. A flat tire. A small scar. A spilled cup. A pause when her lover’s name is mentioned. Each detail tells a story. And every room holds a thousand details. Look for them.
Find the interesting stories.
Be Childlike, not Childish
Look with open eyes.
Remember how amazing the world was before you learned to be cynical.
See the neat things.
The messy things.
The funny things.
Less CRANKINESS.
More MARVELLING.
Keep Asking Why
Parents hate it when kids do it.
Why? Because.
Why? Because.
Why? Because.And on and on. But try it. You’ll be surprised at how quickly a simple Why? can turn into a fascinating Because.
Complement these pithy lessons from How to Be Interesting with Aristotle on how to live a good life and Mother Teresa who said, “Life is a game, play it.”
I’m a freelance writer with 6 years of experience in SEO blogging and article publishing. I currently run two websites: MindfulSpot.com and OurReadingLife.com. While you’re here, get the latest updates by subscribing to my newsletter.
