Is “follow your interests” good advice - or not?

A couple of comments from the brilliant David Deutsch caught my eye today, and I wondered if you (dear reader) might find them interesting too. If you have ever found yourself uncertain whether you’re on the ‘right track,’ wondering if you’re wasting your time, or searching for a toehold in the world that could be yours to claim, then perhaps there is something here for you.

“The essential thing to intellectual progress of all kinds, whether incremental, fundamental, whatever, is interest, that somebody is interested in doing this. If they weren’t paid, they’d still do it. They’d get a job doing something else, and they’d do it in their spare time.”

“What unifies fundamental and incremental research is that someone’s interested in it. And it’s that interest that drives all progress. It’s true that fundamental research eventually, typically, eventually drives something useful as well, but not always.

And, you know, you could ask, well, if the general theory of relativity hadn’t been invented for another 60 years, let’s say, after Einstein, nothing practical would have been affected. Then it was needed for the GPS system. Now it’s being needed for other things. But perhaps if you were interested in purely utilitarian outputs, you would have delayed Einstein. But then if you take that kind of utilitarian attitude to Einstein, you would have taken the utilitarian attitude to everything and you would never have had antibiotics and rocketry and satellites and that sort of thing.

And the reason that it’s all connected is not so much that the progress in the whole of science and engineering comes from fundamental research as a sort of wellspring. That also happens.

But the main thing is that the whole of progress in human ideas is a single thing, an indivisible thing, which is all powered by interest, by curiosity, by dissatisfaction with the way things are currently thought of.”

Amazing.

Deutsch, whom I think of as a kind of living Einstein, is talking about big-picture progress. The progress of life, science, and civilisation. He describes the pursuit of good explanations as the foundation of knowledge. Any field we enter may or may not contribute directly to those explanations, but the point is to keep going. Interests fuel that.

Although his view can feel daunting for a mere mortal to ponder, I found it inspiring. It gave me a sense of validation, even permission, to follow my interests, even when they do not appear to offer anything practical or utilitarian.

I noticed an article in the Harvard Business Review this week with a headline that said something like, “Be yourself is terrible advice.” It was promoting a new book. I understand the point. We all may grow to be more aware that we have many and fluid selves depending on our context and our inner workings. But this is a bit like the advice that “following your interests” is a cliché or a folly. I have a different view.

For some, for example, those suffering cptsd, or other painful events, for whom it has never been safe to “be yourself” or even to recognise your own interests, these things are essential. It’s a basic human need, and without this, healing is unlikely. It’s a necessary part of building an ego - a self - and a sense of identity. Developmentally, we need to have developed enough of an ego in order to let it go.

Deutsch’s ideas suggest that following our interests holds inherent value, not only for us as individuals but for the greater good. Some interests may seem purely personal, like surfing, music, hiking, or cooking. Yet civilisation is a fabric. We live together. We weave society together. We live on a planet supported by nature. It’s all connected, whether we acknowledge it or not. Suppressing what helps us feel alive and fully human doesn’t seem like it would serve the whole.

I am a coach, and my interests include thinking. I love to dive into ideas, have conversations about them, research, read, and explore perspectives from many disciplines. I love coaching itself: attuning deeply, listening, creating space for insight, helping people find their voice, feel better, and feel more courageous and empowered. Writing (as I do here), drawing, and time in nature are other interests that bring me alive.

Still, I sometimes wonder, what is useful? What is the point? Am I being self-indulgent? What actually helps?

To Deutsch’s point, even if I never add directly to the body of knowledge or produce a “good explanation,” I am, as we all are, part of the larger fabric and touching lives in ways that ripple outward.

Acknowledging and validating interests is a great starting point. Over time, genuine interest may evolve into something larger, perhaps even a sense of purpose, or a wish to contribute.

As Deutsch says, progress is fuelled not just by curiosity, but by a dissatisfaction with how things are. Yes!

I might think of ‘interests’ as kind of the ‘what’. What we love to do, what makes us feel 10ft tall, those areas of talent where we excel quickly. The why, the broadening out, comes later. It is motivating to think that our efforts, as Deutsch suggests, may contribute to making something, in any field, better than the current status quo.

When I think about a metpahor to visualise this, I picture a prism. Light enters wide, full of potential and possibility. Then it narrows to a point - the part where we begin to discern what truly matters to us, what draws our focus, what we love. From that point, the light expands again, refracted into new colours and directions. That expansion is where our interests and talents meet the world.

Not all of us have the chance to live out our purpose through paid work, and that’s okay. Interests that live outside our professional roles, those that bring health, beauty, learning, healing, expression, care, or community, matter too. In the prism sense, they keep the light moving.

I am also deeply interested in what drives interests. What lies beneath them, and what stops or suppresses them? Big questions! And complex answers.

As an HSP coach, trauma-informed leadership development coach, and guide for career development and transition, I’m fascinated by why we might follow our interests - or not. Interests emerge from a complex web of factors: innate traits, temperament, early experiences, environment, opportunities, feedback loops, and the dopamine rewards that reinforce learning. Neuroscience points to the SEEKING system which is a motivational circuit that fuels curiosity and exploration.

Interestingly, research suggests that many interests remain relatively stable over a lifetime. They can evolve or deepen as life unfolds, through parenthood, loss, new work, or inner growth, but core threads often endure. Some interests even re-emerge later in life if they were suppressed or denied earlier.

Do you notice stable interest patterns in yourself? Or have yours changed over time?

I wonder if noticing our interests is one of the most direct ways to know ourselves more deeply. Simply acknowledging what draws us, and giving voice and value to those interests, can be a powerful act.

This reflection feels especially relevant in times of transition or career change. Interests often point to what is ready to grow next. They can guide us when identity feels uncertain or purpose feels out of reach. In my work as a trauma-informed leadership and personal development coach, I see again and again that when people make space for what genuinely interests them, for their talents and their ‘selves’, even in small ways, clarity and confidence begin to return.

If you’re drawn to reflecting, here are a few prompts you might enjoy:

• What draws your attention lately, not because it is useful, but because it genuinely interests you? Where do you find yourself losing track of time or feeling most alive?

• If you liked the prism metaphor and imagined the light flow as a life journey, where are you currently on that journey? Are you out wide, trying things out, seeing what sparks? Are you in the middle of a transformative phase? Or are you on the verge of emerging and looking for ways to put your talents to use? (This is not a one-time flow. Around and around we go.)

• What stops you from following your interests? Are there patterns, beliefs, or fears that hold you back?

• Do you have any latent interests you would like to bring into your life again, or for the first time? What is one small step, or one conversation (finding support is essential) that could support you in that?

• What do you notice about your consistent lines of interest? Looking back across your life, what threads keep returning?

• How could honouring a current interest, however small, connect to something larger… for yourself, your relationships, or the world?

If you want to explore your own interests and what they might be telling you, you can book a session with me here.

HSP coach, trauma informed, leadership development coach, personal development, career development, career advancement, transition.