How To Be Interesting

The cool rebel, the adventurous nomad, the awesome sportsperson and the smart gentlemen. We are all somehow attracted to people who are interesting, out of the world or just plain different than the average Joe. There’s something about them that just draw our attention. And while some of their attributes are blessed, most of them however, are self developed.

So you think you’re boring and uninteresting? Well, the good news is, you don’t have to be.

1. Find your story – Just like everyone else, your life is a story, and you’re the storyteller. Some are sad, boring and uninspiring and some are happy and interesting. Now what’s your story going to look like is a choice for you to make. If you want comfortable, all you have to do is to roll with the readied script (aka. Keep doing what you’re doing). The script is there by chances and based on the decisions you made in the past. But here’s the deal. You can, at any point of time change the direction of your story. All you have to do is to rewrite some of the script laid out for you. It’s that simple. If for some reason,you find it difficult to make the transition, here’s some courage.

2. Get an outdoor hobby – If you’re one of those who are always in your room, being in front of your computer or the television, you need to get out of the house now. I’ve been there before and trust me, it’s not cool or interesting. There are so many awesome things you can do outside that you can’t in your confined 4 walls prison. There’s basketball, football, soccer, tennis, martial arts, badminton, break dancing, wall climbing, swimming, snooker, parkour, diving, golf and the list goes on. Everyone needs an outdoor hobby. And that includes you because your life is more than just spending it in your room, right?

3. Be humorous – We all love laughing our ass off from time to time. Which is probably why a person who’s funny is almost guaranteed to be interesting and catches our attention. Though it may sound simple, being funny is an art and mastering it does require some hard work. For starter however, watching sitcoms and reading humor blogs often does the trick. And hey, you’ll get quality laughter while you’re at it. Now that’s hitting one bird with two stones in my dictionary.

4. Learn not to tell the full story – If you ever watched TV series, you would realize that they always tend to end their episode at the climax to keep our attention. It’s frustrating for us but it works like a charm. The same goes for people. In order to be interesting, you need to keep some part of you mysterious. You don’t want people to read you like an open book. And you can do this by not giving out every little detail of your life. Speaking of which, have you ever come across a person who gives out every little detail to your question? “How’s your day?” can be as much as a 30 minute answer. Don’t do it.

5. Mastering small talks – Is it just me or white people are really good at this?

6. Read books – Knowledge is power. And it’s true. There are plenty of things one can learn from books and magazines that make a person more interesting and someone to look for, for knowledge. History, general knowledge, geographical knowledge, business, psychology, politics and sports all makes great conversation topics during dinner. While nerd is not cool, smart definitely is. The difference? Choice of clothing.

7. Explore the world – The world’s largest swimming pool, the last standing 7 wonders of the ancient world, the new 7 wonders of the world, the 100 best dive sites in the world or the 9 best train journeys in the world, I can write a full list of destinations worth going but you get the point. Traveling is great fun as there’s so many things to see and so many cultures to learn and experience. My dream is to travel across the world, which is why I started blogging. I hope you feel the same, sooner than later. Life is an adventure, right?

8. Have clear goals – We all have a thing for people who are focused and know what he wants in life. Indecisive is boring and frustrating to watch. If you don’t have a goal, it’s about time you find one. And it doesn’t really matter if your goal is small, because as long as you have a direction to take, it brings about purpose in your life. Check out Really simple goal setting, Life on purpose and list of Mistakes you should avoid making with your goals for guidance.

9. Be confident – In life, whatever you decide to do, you need to have confidence. If you don’t, it’s not only going to show in your work, people are going to sense it as well. And they’re going to respond by showing a lack of appreciation in what you have to offer. And that’s just human nature. Check out 25 ways to boost self confidence to boost your confidence today.

10. Have your own opinion – The thing with giving out opinions, it doesn’t matter if you’re wrong, provided you make sense. Picture a black sheep in a herd of white sheep. Yes, you want to be the black sheep to stand out once in a while. Make sure it makes sense though, or it’s going to backfire.

11. Discipline – The general workforce is a bunch of lazy people for good reasons. There are too much stress, distractions and lack of motivation to pursue excellence, at least for the majority of people. Being discipline can easily make you different than the average. Check out 5 ways to strengthen willpower for guidance.

12. Be a great listener – To be interesting, you must first be interested. And the best way to do this is by being a good listener. Ask questions, and try to avoid interrupting the other person when they are talking. It’s actually rude.

13. Be stylish – First impression matters. It’s a shame because most of us would like to be appreciated for who we are and not what we wear. Unfortunately, what we wear often determine if anyone would be interested in getting to know us in the first place. Although I would never recommend making judgment based on first impression as it’s not fair for the other person, one cannot avoid being judged by the many who do not agree. After all, it’s human nature to make judgments as it protects us from uncertainty and harm. So how stylish is stylish? As long as it’s not sloppy and out of place, you’ll do just fine.

14. Be charismatic – Charisma is the quality of personal attractiveness or interestingness that enables you to influence others. It is a quality that makes a great leader, and attracts fans and foes alike. As much as I would like to provide tips on being charismatic, I don’t believe there’s any article that can explain it better than by Tina Su: 8 keys to instant charisma.

15. Giver – We all hate selfish people who only see their needs and want as important. By giving, it’s not only going to make you happy as a person, but it makes others appreciate you for your generosity and kindness as well. After all, what goes around comes around.

16. Be attractive – Some people are blessed with looks, and some are not. While there’s no changing what has been given to us, when it comes to being your best, it still matters. And that includes keeping your body weight in check, eating healthy food, exercise and grooming.

17. Be different – Remember I said earlier about being a black sheep to stand out? It applies here as well. There are a lot of things you can do to differentiate yourself with the others. But more importantly, don’t be afraid to be yourself, because you are different. The act of not conforming with the others for the sake of playing it safe is more than enough to set yourself apart from the crowd. Know what you want instead of what has been forced to you.

18. Be unpredictable – Predictable is boring. Having a timetable is predictable. Cracking the same joke over and over is predictable. So is going to the same restaurant for lunch. When’s the last time you try something new and different? My point exactly.

19.  Be passionate – Passion motivates us. It drives us to pursue excellence and it makes our life that more interesting. If you’re wondering on how to find passion, here’s a good article to read by Urban Monk: Finding a purpose and passion in life.

20. Be optimistic – I hate pessimist. Yup. I said it. I hate them to the guts. If you’re a regular, you would know I don’t advocate hatred. But pessimist is on the exception list, along with rapist and woman beater. Why? They are the single most boring type of people in the world. They will always find ways to discourage themselves from trying something new. But that’s not the problem here. How they want to live their life is entirely up to them to decide. But no, they just have to bring others down as well, and that’s where the problem lies. Don’t be a pessimist, be an optimist. Life should be treated as an experiment, as an adventure. Well, if you want your life to be interesting, that is.

21. Be humble – Being stuck up is bad for your fan base. After all, if you only pay attention to those that are better than you, you end up forgetting those who are paying attention to you. Be friendly, smile often and to everyone, and treat people equally, where possible.

22. Do interesting things – We’re living in an interesting era where we are all empowered to share our thoughts and speak our mind. Thanks to the internet, there are plenty of people (and rising) who are making use of this opportunity to voice their thoughts and showcase their talents, such as myself… ehem. If you’re not familiar with Youtube and flickr which I doubt, you’ll be amazed by these talented individuals. Gabebondoc and Nigahiga are just some the few example. Now the question you should ask yourself is, are you playing a part in this transformation of information?

Wrap up

As we all only live once, life should be interesting, for the most part. Rather than ways to make others notice us, I think interesting should be treated more as a lifestyle that one should pursue. But regardless the motive, it’s still better than a dull boring life.

I like to hear your thoughts

If you have anything to add or complaint maybe, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.

If you liked this article, please bookmark it on del.icio.us, tweet or stumble it. I’d appreciate it. Also consider subscribing if you haven’t.

Photo credit