#ELBlog #199: Interested or Interesting?

#ELBlog #199:
Interested or Interesting?

I heard Dr. Rob Gilbert talk about this concept one day a day on the Success Hotline. If you’re not a caller of the hotline I strongly recommend you begin calling: (973-743-4690). He was discussing whether we should be focusing on being interesting or being interested? Every interaction we have with someone, we can be curious learners about them and their unique situations. We can ask questions like tell me more about that? Or why did you think that?

These types of prompting questions show interest and that you are an active listener. Being interested in others allows you to be more present and focus on the person and the interaction in front of you. With someone who has ADD, like me (it’s a superpower not a disability, thank you Peter Shankman), it connects me to that person in that situation. I’d like to learn more from people who want to talk about their situation and what they have going on!

I think it is very important to be interested in others, AND I also think it’s important to be interesting…To lead a rich and cultivating life, have experiences, and help other people. I think the answer to the initial question of should we focus on being interesting or interested is why can’t it be both?

I recently interviewed Nick Ng. Nick is an elementary school principal from Fort Montgomery, Colorado. (Watch the podcast here)

Nick was born in Hong Kong, studied in England, lived in New York, and now has settled in Colorado. He is of Chinese descent, with an English accent, living in a rural town. Like the Dos Equis beer commercial, I found him to be the world’s most interesting man. He is a Principal now but he also has acted, been in movies, performed off Broadway, and even owned a coffee shop. He feels he has much more to give and do with the blessed life he’s been given.

To top it off he’s got this really cool mustache that curls up at the end. During the holiday season, he’s able to hang ornaments on it. Nick was a pleasure to talk to and while I was focusing on being interested, he made it easy by being tremendously interesting.

Here in 2022, I challenge you to try to be both interested and interesting. Create rich and authentic experiences doing different interesting things while focusing on being an active listener and being interested in others.

If I can help you in any way don’t hesitate to reach out at @andrewmarotta21 on Twitter. Keep rolling friends!