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Everyone has a high school math teacher they remember forever, because they were a great teacher you formed a connection with, they were one of the worst teachers you ever had or the curriculum was so hard it forced you to develop a vendetta toward them.
Thankfully, the math teacher I had left a strong impression. Mr. O’Neill taught me about polynomials, how to find logarithms and how to navigate the unit circle, but he also taught me I am more than I give myself credit for. Especially in math, it’s easy to lose motivation, and if you’re only taking the course because it’s required, it’s hard to put in that much effort.
That’s where mindset comes in. Beyond school, if you approach life with a goal to simply complete tasks, you are not really living — you are just letting life happen to you. You may think you aren’t interested in math, cleaning the house or going to a concert your friend wants to see. But what if that lack of interest isn’t fixed, what if it is a choice?
Stanford University professor of psychologist Carol Dweck spent years researching exactly this. Her work on the growth mindset shows students who believed their intelligence could be developed performed better than those who viewed their intelligence as fixed. Dweck’s insight goes deeper than just academic performance, however. She argues a growth mindset allows a person to live a less stressful and more successful life in general.
In other words, the way you choose to approach something determines what it becomes to you.
Taking interest in something is the only way you will ever be fully engrossed in that thing. You probably find a lot of things fascinating, like space, Bluetooth or the deep sea. But you would never go so far as to become interested, simply because you don’t care enough, right?
Here’s the problem with that: There’s an important distinction between finding something interesting and being interested in it. The first is passive: You notice something neat. The second is active: You decide to care.
Research on intrinsic motivation — the kind that comes from within you rather than externally, like a grade or a reward — consistently links it to “enhanced learning, performance, creativity optimal development and psychological wellness.” When you are intrinsically motivated, you don’t need someone standing over you — you show up because you want to.
Think about the things you already care about: Books, TV shows, video games or hopefully your major if you’re a student. Now ask yourself: Do you care enough to engage with these things beyond what is required? Do you want to keep learning about them even when you don’t have to?
If the answer is no, it doesn’t mean something is wrong, it just means you’re in that passive space of finding something interesting without fully committing to it. The important shift happens when you decide to move beyond, when you choose to engage deeply, even when it’s exhausting and defeating. Interest isn’t something you just stumble into; it’s something you build.
That doesn’t mean you need to force yourself to love everything. But for the things that matter, like school, work and the people you care about, the shift is worth making. Instead of waiting to feel interested, act interested. Invest attention. Stay curious.
With time, that choice will change your experience. It’s a disposition that allows you to wake up ready for whatever life hands you, and you’ll start going to sleep knowing more than you did when you woke up.
And it’s a choice: Deciding what you’re interested in instead of what you simply find interesting is an active decision you make and must keep making, every day.
Mr. O’Neill knew that. I didn’t fully understand it then, but I do now.
Reach Charlotte Seymour at letters@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
