two sides of the same coin - the engagement coin

The more effort and time we put in engaging with something, someone or some thought, the more progress, development and in-depth knowledge we make towards it. Some engagements we all spend the same amount of time and effort on, like showering, putting on a pair of pants, tying our shoes and brushing our teeth. We all, more or less, spend the same amount of time doing them and experience the same level of 'engagement.' These experiences have minor variations from one individual to another. Therefore, from an intelligence perspective, one can argue that all of us have the same level of intelligence towards those things. Think about brushing your teeth. Generally and on the whole we all brush the same way and have the same level of intelligence towards it. But what if we wanted to be the best? The world's number one. Can we apply the mechanism of investing time and effort to excel at brushing teeth? Can we become better than others at it? Become more intelligent about it?

Imagine you wanted to be the best at brushing teeth. You want to put the time and effort to be better at brushing your teeth than anyone in the world. You set out to become the best who has ever brushed teeth.

You start by evaluating every aspect of brushing teeth: the paste, the brush, the teeth, the hand movements. You invest time studying the art of teeth brushing- from how many strokes to the angle and speed of every stroke. You take a dentistry course to educate yourself on teeth, you go out and buy the best tools, you read the most relevant articles, you watch the most educational videos, you dig deep in the science behind brushing teeth.

Imagine spending two years dedicated to perfecting brushing teeth. Six hours every day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a years, for two years.

Imagine spending six hours everyday for two years perfecting all of the above! 4,300+ hours of engagement. Imagine all that time and effort!

After those two years have passed, we can safely assume that you are now more intelligent with regards to teeth brushing than 99% of all people that have ever existed.

The mechanism of investing time and effort will guarantee - with varying degrees - that you will increase intelligence towards that thing you are engaging.

But here's the interesting bit, you are now highly emotional towards teeth brushing as well.

To see why, let's take this same mechanism and apply it to a pet.

Imagine you get a new puppy that is one day old. Born yesterday in your own home. You spend everyday all day with it. As soon as your back from work or school and until you sleep. You feed the puppy, you cuddle, you play, you take it to the vet, you train it, you go for walks, you take care of it. You engage and bond for two full years.

After two years wouldn't you love this puppy?

But why would you? Why is it that after two years of all this engaging do you love it? How is it that an emotion has been created? Why this puppy and not some random other one?

Well, because emotions work the same way intelligence does. Through time and effort.

The mechanism of investing time and effort will guarantee - with varying degrees - that you will increase emotions towards that thing you are engaging.

The level of emotions towards a thing, much like intelligence, is dependent on the time invested engaging with a thing and the impact (quality) of these engagements (sometimes you may engage with a singular event for one time only, but the impact is so high that it leaves a lasting impression. For instance, witnessing a huge car crash. Though it is a one-time short-lived event, it is so horrific that it may leave you scarred for many years).

Emotions and intelligence require the same mechanism to develop. Both develop through engagement. Engagement has two factors, time and impact. Time refers to literally the duration spent engaging, and impact refers to the quality of the engagement. Whether it is brushing your teeth or taking care of your puppy or any other thing or being or thought. Your work, your friends, your food, your clothes, your face, your aspirations, your body... It all works the same. You build both intelligence and emotions when engaging. They cannot be separated as they are both are the product of the same event. They both grow with engagement (with varying degrees... always with varying degrees!).