Follow genuine interest, not strategic interest

Pursue the thing that genuinely excites you — even if you cannot explain why or see how it fits.

Why it works

Intrinsic interest signals a match between a domain and the person’s cognitive and emotional architecture — which predicts sustained engagement and depth of exploration. Creative work typically requires far more sustained effort than the initial concept warrants; intrinsic motivation is one of the few forces durable enough to power that sustained effort through the long middle of a project.

How to do it

1. When starting a project, ask "does this genuinely excite me?" before "is this a good idea?"
2. Notice when excitement is genuine versus performed — intrinsic interest is recognizable by sustained spontaneous engagement, not just initial enthusiasm.
3. Allow yourself to pursue interests that seem tangential or impractical — Rubin explicitly treats these as the most valuable signal.
4. Periodically return to something you loved before "what to do with it" became a question.

Evidence

Self-determination theory research consistently finds that intrinsic motivation produces better quality creative work and greater persistence than extrinsic motivation, particularly for complex, open-ended tasks. (observational)

Intrinsic motivation supports creative quality in the lab; professional creative work also requires finishing, which often requires external structure — pure interest alone may not carry a project to completion.

Sources

• Amabile (1983), The Social Psychology of Creativity — intrinsic motivation and creative output

Common mistake

Pursuing what you think you should be interested in, or what others will find impressive, rather than what actually moves you — producing technically competent but hollow work.