The Power of Curiosity
If you aren't subscribed to my twice-monthly Wild About Work (tm) e-mail newsletter, here's a taste of an audiosnack from the issue I sent out last week (if you'd like to receive the newsletter, you can subscribe here).
Title: The Power of Curiosity
File size: 2.2 MB
Just in case the speed of your connection leaves something to be desired, here's the written transcript...
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Were you ever a kid? If you were, then you have probably experienced one of the key ingredients in living a stimulating, interesting, fascinating life. What's that, you ask? Curiosity!
Next time you're around small children, watch how they engage the world around them. It's inspiring. It really is. There's a new discovery around every corner, and everything is wondrous and new.
Here's a question for you. On a scale of one to ten, how curious are you? How often do you take a look around you and say, "Hmmm. I wonder...?" I wonder how. I wonder why. I wonder when. If you're like many adults, you've probably lost a lot of that sense of curiosity and wonder along the way.
And that's a shame, because curiosity keeps life fresh. And not only does it keep life fresh, it keeps it rich with potential and possibility.
I think there are a couple things that get in the way of the reinvigorating potential of curiosity. The first is the dreaded rut. We drive the same road to the same job and work on the same things with the same people. We watch the same TV, and have the same conversations. One day of life blends into another, and it all starts to look a bit monochromatic. It dulls the senses and we forget that the world offers a rainbow of colors to experience.
Another obstacle to tapping into the richness of curiosity is the fact that, as we grow older, we start to build more rigid perceptions of "the way things are." We've been there done that, and we start to believe that we know what's what. With a perspective like that, what's the point of curiosity? We already know it!
That's dangerous territory, because it inherently closes doors. There's a Zen Buddhist concept called Beginner's Mind. One of the quotes in today's newsletter sums it up beautifully. "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few."
Take a look around you. Where is there potential for curiosity? What do you want to know more about? What assumptions are you making that you can explore with fresh eyes? How might someone else see your world?
The more curiosity you can bring to your life, the more energy you'll feel, and the more possibilities you'll discover.
Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst TM
Hmmm. You say potahto, I say potayto?
You say it's all about curiosity, I say it's all about power!
The good kind, of course. Lack of power leads to stress. Feelings of powerfulness lead to satisfaction, accomplishment, and joy.
Just a thought.
Posted by: Working Girl | March 21, 2007 at 07:42 PM
If only I were LESS curious. Every day I'm overwhelmed with mysteries of "whys" and "hows" and "what ifs."
In fact, my husband and I often get into arguments because of differences of opinion regarding the "why" or "how" of something. Mind you, we are arguing not over who's right or wrong, because we don't have the answer (we're usually drivng somewhere, out of reach of Google), but over whose speculation makes the most sense.
Two overly curious people can have some really dumb arguments.
Posted by: Lisa Braithwaite | March 24, 2007 at 05:43 PM
Curiosity is one of the greatest gifts we can have, and it is all up to us to grab hold of it.
-Working Girl, I know where you're coming from on that, if I could only turn off the curiosity once and a while I might not be such a space cadet at times.
I would love to post to this article if that is alright. In the blog that I have recently started I am trying to focus on positive energy and possibilities. This will fit in perfectly.
Namaste
P~
Posted by: Patrik | March 27, 2007 at 10:06 AM