

Ask HN: Why do people get absorbed by some things but not others? - zoba

As succinctly as I can: How and why do people have genuine interest in things?  How do they maintain that interest over time?  What initially determined their interest in that thing?<p>My thoughts on this question stem from noticing how people do a faster and better job when they are interested in a task.  In my own life, I&#x27;ve noticed times when I&#x27;ve been obsessed with programming, or a video game.  However, I&#x27;ve also had many times where I had to work hard to force myself to solve problems - I just couldn&#x27;t convince myself to care.  I want to understand what the difference is, and hopefully exploit the knowledge to have a more productive and comfortable life.<p>In other individuals, I&#x27;ve been envious of their ability to stay deeply engaged with things for long periods of times.  Some of the most successful people I know are ones who somehow continue to care about a topic long after others would&#x27;ve given up.  Why do they continue to care?<p>I&#x27;ve also noticed there is a difference between genuine interest versus actions driven by a 2nd order interest (e.g. &quot;I&#x27;m doing X for the money&quot;, &quot;I&#x27;m doing X because I&#x27;m obligated&quot;).  Activities driven by 2nd order interests seem less skillfully performed.  Unfortunately, humans seem wired to have genuine interests in short-term rewards, which ends up meaning there is a performance hit  for long term goals since &quot;I&#x27;m doing X so one day it will pay off&quot;.  It would be more ideal to just prefer things which would be long term good for you.<p>I&#x27;ve read a lot about Flow, but I don&#x27;t think thats the entire answer.  For example: I know a lot more about programming know than I used to...but I don&#x27;t stay up until 4 AM coding stuff any more.<p>I expect some responses about burnout at well, which is actually part of the question.  How do people go harder than others, and not burn out?  How can I have this for myself?
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terminalcommand
The point is staying away from burnout. In my opinion we all have genuine
interests in some fields. In my case they are computers.

Over the past few years I have noticed that if I neglect things that truly
interest me like building a compiler or reading about automata theory just
because I had to do other things (study for finals etc.) my performance drops.
It may sound a bit metaphysical; but I think everyone in this world has a
purpose in life and we are all suited for different interests. It is important
to protect our hacker spirit and our general enthusiasm for life. These words
may sound a cliché for depressed person; nevertheless in my own experience
they proved to be right.

If you and more importantly your subconscious believe that you are not wasting
your time and improving, you will experience joy and satisfaction. It will be
much more easier to cope with circumstances and acknowledge the
unpredictability of fate. You will naturally show a genuine interest in
everything, because you are supported by a purpose that you believe in.

I have experienced several burnouts and severe depressions; and at times I
thought I had lost my faith in computers. But when I embraced them back, it
all went away, not at once, but eventually.

Kill your darlings had a wonderful quote on this topic: "Some things, once
you’ve loved them, become yours forever. And if you try to let them go, they
only circle back and return to you. They become a part of who you are, or they
destroy you."

If you want some philosophical background on this topic I would suggest
reading more about Stoicism.

a guide to the good life: the ancient art of stoic joy is an excellent hands-
on book about the practical parts of it. -BTW, I discovered it through an HN
Post-

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rahimnathwani
Check out the book 'Flow' for one potential answer, or this TED Talk if you
have less time:
[http://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow?lan...](http://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow?language=en)

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megaultra
This book might be of interest to you:
[https://leanpub.com/indoctrinator](https://leanpub.com/indoctrinator)

I haven't read it though, so I can't comment on it's efficacy.

