I use the word ‘interesting’ a lot. When I’ve been to visit another school, an interview, or just after a day at work, people ask me how it was and my reply will often begin with that word: “Interesting.”.
It seems my response usually ends up being interpreted one of two ways:
1. Negative
The experience was challenging, contrasting with normality, difficult and I learnt something.
However, it was not something I would want to repeat or recommend.
2. Positive
The experience was challenging, contrasting with normality, difficult and I learnt something.
However, it was something I would want to repeat and would really recommend.
No prizes for guessing which is the most common interpretation. I wonder why it is that most people interpret the ‘interesting’ as having negative undertones. The implication of this is that learning something is scant reward go through a challenging experience that makes you question your status quo.
I can’t help thinking that people who view the interesting as in number 1. are in for a lot of ‘interesting’ times by their own definition of the word. Far better, I think, to accept the ‘interesting’ as a positive.
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