The Difference Between Likes and Interests

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“Can What We Like Become Our Job?”

The reason I started thinking about this question was a conversation with a friend on Messenger.

"There are many kinds of 'like,' right? For example, 'a like that you want to share with others' and 'a like that you don’t want to share.' Or 'a like that can be a job' and 'a like that cannot be a job.'"

"That’s interesting! I’d like to analyze the different kinds of 'like' more deeply. The word is very useful, but it’s also vague, so sometimes it’s hard to explain small details."

"Yes, I agree. I once had a coworker who said, 'I like programming, but I don’t do programming outside of work, and I don’t study it either.' I thought, 'Can you really call that liking something!?' But at the same time, no one can deny another person’s feelings. So, 'like' is a difficult word."

After this conversation, I started wondering, "What does 'like' really mean to me?"

That’s why I decided to write this blog.

Some time later, I had a chance to talk with a few people, including that friend, about the meaning of "like." Through our conversation, we came to a hypothesis:

"'Like' is a conclusion, but 'interest' is what leads to action."

Even if you don’t really like something, if you have interest, you will take action. On the other hand, if you only reach the conclusion of "liking" something but have no further interest, it might just stop there.

I see. When I wanted to work in a hotel as a student, and later switched to being a systems engineer, both choices came from my interest in "working as a team to do something for customers."

Thinking about it this way, I can also understand why my former coworker said, "I like programming, but I don’t study it." Maybe he tried programming and reached the conclusion that they "like" it, but they didn’t develop any further interest beyond that.

Oh, I see! So that’s what it was. Somehow, it finally made sense to me. At that moment, I felt really clear about it. So, even though this series of writings was still unfinished, I thought, "Maybe I can just end it here."

Then, as I looked back on my own history, which I had planned to write about, I nodded to myself, thinking, "I see… This decision came from my interest in ○○, and that decision was because of my interest in ××."

But then...

"Huh? Wait a second..."

As I went through my memories one by one, something felt off.

"This decision wasn’t because of 'interest,' was it...? The real driving force behind this big change was 'like,' right...??"

Looking back, there were at least two decisions I made that were clearly not based on 'interest' but purely on 'like.'

Hmmm...? I thought I had reached a clear conclusion, "'Interest' leads to action, while 'like' itself doesn’t have the power to drive action."

That should have made sense, but… it doesn’t seem to be that simple.

And so,

the story of my life, titled "An Adventure Through 'Like' and 'Interest,'"

begins.

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