Have you heard the term “interestingness” yet? It’s Monday, so I’ll make this easier on you with bullet points and emojis:

• Happiness makes life feel good 🥳.
• Meaning makes life feel worthwhile 🙏.
• Interestingness makes life feel like something’s actually happening 🤔⚡️(I wasn’t sure what emojis to use there, sorry).

A key insight about interestingness—according to philosopher Dr. Lorraine Besser who studies this branch of well-being—is that an experience can be valuable because it captures and engages us, regardless of whether we enjoy it.

Think about the difference between a perfectly happy day and a genuinely interesting day:

A happy day: You sit by a beautiful pool, order a margarita, read a book by your favorite author, and enjoy absolutely nothing going wrong.
Lovely! And your brain may be mostly on cruise control.

An interesting day: You take a pottery class. You’re totally terrible! Your bowl looks like a collapsed colon. You get clay in your bra. You laugh, learn something, and find yourself captivated by a skill you never knew existed.
Was it entirely pleasant? No. Was it interesting? Absolutely.

And now this leads us to one of the ways to ratchet up the interestingness in your life… it’s to embrace a concept called aesthetic friction—that little bit of disruption, challenge, unfamiliarity, or discomfort that interrupts an otherwise run o’ the mill experience and makes us pay attention.

Examples that Just Might Make You Bristle:

• Always order the same dish at your favorite restaurant… OR… Order something you can’t pronounce and discover whether you love it or need a little moment with your napkin.
• Take the same walk every morning… OR… Walk through a different neighborhood where you might risk getting disoriented.
• Read books that reinforce your worldview… OR… Read a compelling book by someone you profoundly disagree with.
• Take a perfectly planned vacation… OR… Leave an afternoon unplanned and follow whatever captures your curiosity. You might discover a cute little café or stumble upon a goat auction.
• Stick to hobbies you’re already good at… OR… Take a beginner’s class and see how it feels to be a rookie again.
• Avoid unfamiliar cultural experiences… OR… Attend an opera, wrestling match, or experimental art exhibit that you know zilcho about.
• Have the same conversations with your spouse… OR… Ask: “What’s something you secretly wish we’d try before we die?” (Brace yourself.)
• Choose activities with predictable outcome… OR… Do something without a guarantee of success. Audition for community theater. Enter a chili cook-off. Apply for a TEDx talk.
• Stick to small talk, like discussing the weather… OR… Break a tiny social script and ask a stranger a genuinely interesting question.

Aesthetic friction awakens us from our little comas of familiarity.

We’ve become so fixated on making life comfortable that we’re at risk of making it a snoozefest. We optimize our schedules, automate our chores, order the same takeout, and watch television shows recommended by an algorithm that knows us better than our mothers. Everything is getting easier. But is anything getting more interesting?

You don’t have to jump out of an airplane to make your life more interesting. You could just try something you’re not already good at. Learn to play the banjo… take an improv class… talk to someone with different political opinions… give your brain something to chew on besides your usual recycled thoughts.

When was the last time you did something for the first time? Where can you add a wee (or wild) bit of friction in your life? Maybe it’s putting in a hefty bid for that goat.