Why Being Curious is Our Greatest Way to Grow
“Why do I need to eat this, mom?”
“That’s an apple, Luna. It’s good for you.”
“Why?”
“Because it contains vitamins.”
“What are vitamins?”
“Vitamins are tiny little elements inside some of our food that help you grow into a strong girl, with a strong body when you grow older.”
“I don’t want to grow older.”
“Why not?”
“I want to stay five forever.”
“But you will grow up, honey. Everyone does.”
Luna folded her arms in protest. “Why?”
“That’s how it works, we humans grow and become adults.”
“That’s no reason. Why?”
“Stop it now, Luna, go play with your iPad.”
The conversation between Luna and her mother above describes one of the inevitable moments when adults give up in answering every curious question a child poses.
As a child, you haven’t formed your worldview yet. You are on a wonderful and adventurous path of discovery. And: you’re still open to everything. Curiosity is about having an open and active mind. Every child is on a journey of exploration, to make sense of the world. As children, we aren’t yet hindered by responsibilities or societal pressures, so our level of curiosity is at its highest peak.
Recently I read a book called Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder. The whole time I read it, I regretted not having read it when I was younger. It’s an adventurous and mysterious novel about a fourteen-year-old girl named Sophie who receives mysterious letters from a philosopher. The philosopher becomes her teacher and soon explains the philosophical and theological ideas, thoughts and values from Thales to Socrates to Kierkegaard. It’s easily digestible for people of all ages or levels of reading, and a great introduction to philosophy.
Gaarder poses that philosophy is a way for adults to reignite their curious flames. But what else can we do to open our minds (again)?
“The important this is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” — Albert Einstein
Adolescence
As a teenager, you’re still curious. Your curiosity is obviously focused on new and undiscovered territory, like the opposite sex, alcohol, driving, becoming independent, experimenting, etc.
On the other hand, you are required to pass tests and exams. You have to learn stuff you will not always like. Some people grow to hate reading and studying for that reason (many of my friends do). This is a shame really, for you’ll hinder yourself to continue to learn when you’re older. The best thing is, then you can learn about everything YOU like.
In high school, we are prepared for adulthood and we have to make tough decisions at a young age as to what you want to study. Most people don’t know. They haven’t had time to explore everything. I didn’t know but chose business anyway. It was an easy choice and I figured it would be very likely to land a good job with an MBA. However, in hindsight, I might have wanted to study literature or philosophy.
Thing is, I’m still able to. In my spare time I like to read about philosophy, I read many novels, I study writing, etc. Unfortunately, most people stop when they don’t HAVE to learn anymore.
Adulthood
In college and University, you continue on your path of discovery. Who you are, what you want out of life, what you want to contribute to the world. You’ll have relationships, study groups, parties, and you might go on a backpacking trip.
When we enter the job market, responsibilities and societal pressure slowly kill our curiosity. We need to pay the bills. We need to grow our company. We need to work long hours. We need to go to the gym. At the end of each day, we’re exhausted.
The “need to’s” kill our “want to’s” and with that our open and active mind. This makes me so sad. A live without learning, new discoveries and excitement can become dull. Many people fall into the too busytrap. But you don’t have to.
“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” — Walt Disney
Don’t push your curiosity away, reconnect with it
How? Here are some tips to (re)ignite your curiosity:
💡 Try new things or learn something new
Never tried a Japanse cooking class? Book one with a friend.
Always drink beer? Discover wine and do a wine tasting.
Join a friend for a salsa class. Do something new every once in a while.
Go outside of your comfort zone. Better yet: learn something new.
We live in the digital age and learning has become accessible to almost everyone. Often, it is cheap or even free to learn. Many academic websites offer free classes (from philosophy to business). Browse a platform like Udemy for interesting courses. Maybe you want to learn to play the piano or learn a (programming) language.
Get to Medium and explore tags that interest you. Adjust your settings and mark the subjects you like. Then, Medium will send you an email with articles which you might like
Go on Youtube and watch videos to learn a new skill. Listen to podcasts. There is so much out there to feed your mind!
🤔 Philosophize
“It’s not a silly question if you can’t answer it.” ― Jostein Gaarder, Sophie’s World
The old Greek philosophers believed that philosophy originated because human beings wonder about everything.
People always have the need to clarify things, to explain them.
Use your senses to register change, and your rationale to make sense of things.
Discuss a topic for no other reason than that it’s interesting.
Think! Sit somewhere comfortable, this could be at home in your favorite chair, or on a park bench or a lounge beach chair, whatever. Now just… think. You don’t necessarily have to have a subject you want to think about, although if you want to think about why you’re here on this planet, go for it! Sit for 10–15 minutes and let your thoughts just flow. Keep a notebook and a pen. Maybe you come up with a great idea or you remember something you’ve forgotten.
❓Question
Never stop asking questions to deepen your understanding. Think of the Einstein quote at the beginning of this post.
Why, why, why? Try to get to the essence of things. It’s fun.
🔍 Try Wikimedia
Wikipedia has this awesome feature on their website, it picks a random article from the website. If you visit it every once in a while, you’ll learn unexpected things. The modern equivalent of opening an Encyclopedia at random.
Or, simply turn to Google to learn more about things that interest you.
🌎 Explore
Take the same route to work every day? Leave 10 minutes earlier and take a detour
Walk around your neighborhood, or better yet: explore one in your city/town you don’t visit that often.
Want to take it further from home? Travel. From a city trip in a foreign country to backpacking through Asia. You will discover new things every day.
👶 Spend a day like a child
Look at everything as if you see it for the first time. Smell, taste, listen, see. Think back of Luna in the beginning. Ask your why’s. Look for answers.
📚 Immerse yourself with art
Read great books. You can opt for novels or non-fiction books that spark your interest.
Go to a museum and explore paintings and sculptures by the greats.
Watch documentaries, movies or TV-series.
There’s nothing like eagerly anticipating a new book from your favorite author or the next episode from your favorite TV-series.
Conclusion
Maybe I’m more curious by nature than someone else. However, the above tips really help me stay curious and grow.
So, in short: philosophize, wonder, read, try, question, learn and think.
What are your favorite ways to fuel your curiosity? What hinders you in staying curious?
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