The Role of Curiosity in an Exciting Life
Curiosity is a part of all of us, including you. We were all once curious about walking. As students, we were curious about life after school. At one point or another, our curiosity led to a YouTube binge in which we found ourselves watching a random video. All I wanted to do was watch my favourite creator before bed… how have I ended up watching a video about the largest snake to have ever existed?
Unfortunately, the majority of us are not as curious as we once were. The average three-year-old asks around 100 questions a day. However, at around the age of ten, the child hardly asks any more questions.
Is this down to overly structured education systems? Or insecurities and the fear of being judged? Maybe we feel like we don’t need any more answers.
The reason doesn’t matter as much. The fact is that we are not curious enough, so we need to up our curiosity game and make our lives more exciting!
What Does It Mean to Be Curious?
Curiosity is the innate desire to learn, explore or experience something.
If you’re feeling curious about a specific topic, you may watch videos, read books or take a course.
Curiosity regarding a specific person may give you an urge to ask them more questions or stalk their social media profiles.
When feeling curious about activities, you may research about it and hopefully, go on to experience it one day.
Curiosity is the engine of achievement.
Ken Robinson
Exploration Is Exciting and Life-Changing
When we’ve booked a holiday, we count down the days until we’re on the plane. Upon finishing our assignments, we can’t wait to find out our grades. When we meet someone new, we intuitively want to know more about them. We love exploring and finding out new information.
Being curious is a crucial component of survival. It is curiosity that helped us discover food, shelter and other necessities. Our brains are hardwired to seek more information by producing feel-good chemicals such as dopamine when we satisfy our curiosity. Simply put, our brains literally reward us for being curious.
The simple act of exploring and learning new things can be exciting. Being curious can lure you into various activities and fields of work. This also significantly increases the chances of finding new hobbies, passions and even jobs.
There’s a good chance you’re curious about something at this very moment. The best advice I can give you is to satisfy that curiosity, assuming no harm is caused. It might not work out, but at least you tried.
You can then take this mentality and apply it to other interests. Exploring curiosities will make your life more exciting. Your life could also positively change as a result, which has been the case for me.
In secondary school, I was curious about computing and particularly programming. I satisfied this curiosity by taking a Software Development course in college. This opened the door for me to study Computer Science at university.
I’ve also always wanted to write, but I’ve admittedly let fear and resistance get the better of me. I’m curious to see how much I can achieve with writing; therefore, I’m committing to writing more frequently and consistently (chuckles nervously).
Relationships and Socialising
As a result of becoming more curious, you may want to further understand people and take an interest in their lives, experiences and beliefs. Naturally, you may even speak to more people.
Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
Dale Carnegie
Dale Carnegie was on to something here. We love talking about ourselves, whether we want to express beliefs and opinions, brag about achievements or share our feelings. Give people in your life the opportunity to do by being curious and asking the right questions.
As well as talking about themselves, people also love when somebody shows interest in them. We all want to be want to be heard, connected with and appreciated. Being curious can help you develop your existing relationships even further. Curiosity, just like empathy, is a great tool to bring you closer to another person.
With those who you don’t know well, or at all, you must express curiosity and interest without going over the top. Simple questions such as “What do you like to do in your free time?” can go a long way.
When conversing with an individual, be curious about their feelings. Are they comfortable? Nervous? Anxious? Be empathetic and figure out how to behave around them.
In my journey of consciously becoming more curious, I began connecting with others more than I used to. Much of this has been online due to the pandemic, but the point still stands.
I’ve also gotten much closer to some people by showing interest and asking deep questions. I noticed that when you show a lot of interest in others, they often reflect similar levels of interest back.
Expanding Knowledge
Being curious, exploring and asking questions helps us gather information. We can then take information and transform it into knowledge. Using our knowledge, we can improve the quality of our lives.
For example, I’ve given you an abundance of information in this article. Now that you’re aware of the information provided, you have more knowledge. Using your knowledge regarding curiosity, you’ll (hopefully) try to be more curious to reap benefits such as improving relationships.
Curiosity can get you ahead of everyone else. You have an advantage over the average person. Picture yourself at the end of a lecture. Everybody may be happy with the information they’ve been given and can’t wait to go home. If your curiosity encourages you to ask even a few more questions at the end, you’re better than average.
In an organisation, curiosity can allow for new ideas, potential breakthroughs and a more interesting workplace. Exploring information and increasing knowledge can help generate ideas and solutions which may not have been produced before. Yet, many companies seem to suppress curiosity.
If we’re curious about our work, whether it is academic, professional or a side hustle, we’re going to be more passionate. We’re going to want to do it more and keep going until we get the results we’re after. We’ll naturally be more interested and make more of an effort, increasing the likelihood of success.
Recently, upon hearing so much about the world of finance and investing, I naturally became more curious. Although I had and still have some fear and resistance, I’ve been carrying out a lot of research to satisfy my curiosity. The research I have been doing will financially benefit me in the long run.
How to Spark Curiosity
Nothing has sparked my curiosity greater than actively learning. Continue to learn and take in new information through books, articles, courses or YouTube videos. I’m a fan of all four. There is an abundance of information available online. The more I learn about a topic, the more curious I become about what else there is to know.
Don’t just try to be above average; be the best you can be. I’m always trying to better myself where I can, and because of this, I always like to do additional research. I don’t want to miss out on anything.
Ask questions… a lot of questions. Always seek to find out more. Ask real people as well as Google. Seek answers which will give you more in-depth knowledge and not just a yes or a no. To do so, you must make sure you ask the right questions.
Everything comes down to perception. If you view most things as boring or as a waste of time, you won’t even be slightly curious. Aim to perceive everything you have to do as fun or useful. I still struggle to do so as this particular mindset shift isn’t easy to apply.
Summary
- We’re all curious to some extent.
- Most people lose their curiosity during childhood.
- Curiosity is the innate desire to learn, explore or experience something.
- Curiosity can make life more exciting via exploration, bettering relationships and expanding knowledge.
- Humans love to explore. Our brains are hardwired to want to know more.
- Showing interest in another person can bring you closer together.
- Curiosity inevitably leads to an increase in knowledge, which can be applied to improve your life.
- Curiosity can be sparked through continuous learning, aiming to be the best you can be, constantly asking questions and perceiving everything as fun or useful.
