The Art of the Interesting

What We Miss in Our Pursuit of the Good Life and How to Cultivate It

By: Lorraine Besser PhD

Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo

Length: 9 hrs

Publisher's summary

Philosopher and popular Middlebury professor Dr. Lorraine Besser reveals the missing third piece in our search for the Good Life—what she calls The Interesting—and teaches us how to cultivate it in our lives.

Do you know anyone who's truly living The Good Life? Traditionally, philosophers and psychologists have thought of the Good Life in terms of happiness or meaning, or some combination of both. But, if it’s really that simple, if all you need is more happiness or meaning to get to the Good Life, why aren’t more of us achieving that truly “good” life? You’ve hit all the traditional markers, jumped on the happiness train, committed to a gratitude practice, sought purpose in your work, and yet The Good Life you’re seeking, is still out of reach.

Emerging research is revealing that there is, in fact, more to the good life than the current—and even ancient—conversation suggests. This has been identified as psychological richness. Dr. Lorraine Besser, a founding investigator in these studies, shows how psychological richness helps to make our Good Lives more interesting. Interesting experiences captivate our minds, engage our thoughts and emotions, and often change our perspective. What’s interesting is different for everyone, and everyone can obtain and strengthen the skills necessary to access the interesting.

In this illuminating book, you’ll take a deeper dive into the ways that you can cultivate the interesting in your everyday life, including:

• How to develop an interesting mindset
• How to harness the power of novelty
• How to turn obstacles into adventures

Through delightful stories, powerful tools, and new mindsets, you’ll learn how to “keep it interesting.” Whether you feel like something is missing from your life, or you’re yearning for more, Besser's groundbreaking manifesto will guide you toward a fuller, more satisfying life.

©2024 Lorraine Besser (P)2024 Balance

Critic reviews

“Lorraine Besser shines a light on this new and emerging science of psychological richness, what she calls the interesting. To now have this new piece of the puzzle illuminated and unlocked is invigorating and points the way to a lot fresh and energizing insight about how we can create out most successful and fulfilled lives.”—Emma Seppälä, Author of Sovereign and The Happiness Track

“Lorraine Besser has done a remarkable job of integrating philosophy and psychology to suggest, for the first time, a crucial new element of the good life beyond the traditional philosophical ends of happiness and meaning— psychological richness."—Alison Gopnik, author of The Scientist in the Crib, columnist WSJ and Prof. of Psychology and Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley

“In The Art of the Interesting, Lorraine Besser demonstrates that a critical component to a good life is what scientists refer to as the psychologically rich life. This integration of philosophy and psychologic science gives us a new perspective of the importance of 'interestingness' as a critical aspect of human fulfillment.”—James R. Doty, M.D., author of the New York Times bestseller, Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart and Founder & Director of the Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE)