How to Develop Taste

The first step to developing better taste is to start with a very large sample. Diversity is your friend. Developing taste is essentially the process of trying enough things so that you're able to identify what you like, and then articulate why you actually like it.

To do this, it's important to stretch your pallet whenever and wherever possible. The way humans learn is from new ideas and sensations that expand the realm of possibility within our minds. To develop taste requires exposure to both the worst and the mind-exploading awesome.

Why do you like something? 

Ask yourself. When you do find something awesome, it's great, but don't stop there. Try to figure out what it actually is that you like.

Whatever it is, a piece of writing, a fine wine, don't stop exploring once you find something you think is good. Don't stop "getting lost".

That's how you continue to refine your taste. That's how you evolve your passions from a craft to an art. If you love jazz guitar, be the Columbus or the Cortez of jazz guitar. Sail to the end of the world and then share with us what you find.

It's humanly impossible to taste every wine in the world, listen to every piece of music, visit every art gallery, read every book on the shelf, and sail every ocean. 

That's why we must develop taste. We can do anything, but not everything. Deciding what's worth doing is where we add our value.

The great mural of human life is dynamic. Our purpose in the world isn't to paint the whole picture. Rather, with our lives, we have the opportunity to paint one small dot as honestly and beautifully as possible. Collectively, if we each focus on our own beautiful dot, we will have a masterpiece.

So, developing your taste is important. We need your dot.