A friend shared that she reread a novel from high school and found a greater appreciation for it: "Turns out, I didn't hate the book. I hated the assignments."
In high school, she had read the book out of obligation. She needed ideas to write an essay, details to answer test questions, and so on. She felt like she was "always looking for something."
Indeed, that's like Test Taking 101. For reading comprehension tests, you're advised to first review the questions and answer choices - then read the passage. That way, you'd know what to pay attention to. You're on the lookout for certain details. All your focus is on arriving at the right answer.
This was also the case for my friend in her assignments.
But when she read the same book again for leisure, she had time to peruse. To dwell on the writing. To take it in. She saw details she had missed, symbolism and foreshadowing she hadn't noticed. She developed an emotional attachment to the characters and recognized the connection to other themes. The same story felt deeper and richer than she had recalled.
This can serve as an analogy for life. Here are two takeaways for us:
1. Doing something because you want to - not because you have to - always feels better. Even if it's the same thing. Even when nothing changes but your mindset.
2. Life is about more than finding the right answer or optimizing for an outcome. If you're always looking for something, you might miss the best that life has to offer.
If reading a novel can take on a whole new experience, how much greater the impact your outlook makes on life.