The start to many interesting things in our lives begins with us being curious about something.
Every subject we are well-read up on, or well informed on, or become an expert on, begins with curiosity.
Curiosity is another word for attention. When we are curious about a subject, it means we have chosen to pay attention to that subject.
At different points in our life, we will be curious about different things related to our age, our health issues, our physical or mental problems, our jobs, our relationship problems, our experiences, our passions, our hobbies, our life challenges, and more.
When we can't stop reading a book, or we can't stop watching a movie or show, it's because of curiosity - we are curious, and we want to know all there is to know, or we want to know what comes next, or we want to know what happens in the end.
We have a better chance at improving at anything (whether cooking, or gardening, or playing an instrument) by being curious.
Any new brave step you take, whether it is deciding to enter a contest, or deciding to enter a new field, or deciding to become an entrepreneur, it requires curiosity. You have to be curious about everything and anything connected with the step you are taking.
There are different levels of curiosity. You can be slightly curious about something, very curious about something, and curious to the point of being obsessed about something.
The more interested you are in a subject or puzzle, the longer you are involved in trying to find an answer to it, the better your chances of finding useful information and insights about that subject.
Curiosity is easy to satisfy when it comes to finding answers for simple things such as who wrote that book, who acted in that movie, who is the president of a country. We can get an immediate answer by using Google search or Alexa.
For answers to more complex things, and questions without a clear answer, we have to keep staying curious.
We have to have patience and persistence, even when we are not able to find a clear answer.
Rabbit Hole : In the process of being curious about one thing, we may discover something else. In the process of being curious about that something else, we may discover yet something else. We can do this multiple times, and discover many new things completely unrelated to the starting subject we were curious about. This is called going down a rabbit hole. It is fun to go down rabbit holes, and many wonderful discoveries and inventions have come about this way.
Curiosity is the main reason people spend time on social media.
It is what makes Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Pinterest so addictive, and so successful.
We are curious to see who is doing what, who has what to say, and who has what to show.
Kids are prevented from being curious by their parents about many things, so curiosity may have to wait till adulthood..
At different points in our life, we will be curious about different things related to our age, our health issues, our physical or mental problems, our jobs, our relationship problems, our experiences, our passions, our hobbies, our life challenges, and more.
When we can't stop reading a book, or we can't stop watching a movie or show, it's because of curiosity - we are curious, and we want to know all there is to know, or we want to know what comes next, or we want to know what happens in the end.
We have a better chance at improving at anything (whether cooking, or gardening, or playing an instrument) by being curious.
Any new brave step you take, whether it is deciding to enter a contest, or deciding to enter a new field, or deciding to become an entrepreneur, it requires curiosity. You have to be curious about everything and anything connected with the step you are taking.
There are different levels of curiosity. You can be slightly curious about something, very curious about something, and curious to the point of being obsessed about something.
The more interested you are in a subject or puzzle, the longer you are involved in trying to find an answer to it, the better your chances of finding useful information and insights about that subject.
Curiosity is easy to satisfy when it comes to finding answers for simple things such as who wrote that book, who acted in that movie, who is the president of a country. We can get an immediate answer by using Google search or Alexa.
For answers to more complex things, and questions without a clear answer, we have to keep staying curious.
We have to have patience and persistence, even when we are not able to find a clear answer.
Rabbit Hole : In the process of being curious about one thing, we may discover something else. In the process of being curious about that something else, we may discover yet something else. We can do this multiple times, and discover many new things completely unrelated to the starting subject we were curious about. This is called going down a rabbit hole. It is fun to go down rabbit holes, and many wonderful discoveries and inventions have come about this way.
Curiosity is the main reason people spend time on social media.
It is what makes Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Pinterest so addictive, and so successful.
We are curious to see who is doing what, who has what to say, and who has what to show.
Kids are prevented from being curious by their parents about many things, so curiosity may have to wait till adulthood..
Parents may keep their kids from being curious about things they are too young to be curious about, or things they feel they shouldn't be curious about ever.
Social customs, religion, family secrets, and taboo subjects are some things a child may be instructed not to be curious about.
A curious child may thus get into trouble more than an uncurious child, by not being able to follow these instructions.
Children may keep many secrets from their parents, including what they discover from their curiosity, until they are living on their own, or for life.
In adulthood, we are free to be curious about everything.
By allowing ourselves to be curious, and learning new facts, ideas, and truths, we may discover we do not think like our parents, and we do not share some of their beliefs.
Curiosity is mostly good for us, depending on what we decide to be curious about, and the motivation for our curiosity.
For instance, we may be curious to stop and look at an accident, or watch a horror movie or a sad documentary, even though we could potentially see or experience something terrible, which will give us nightmares or heartaches after.
Likewise, we can be obsessively curious about what everyone is posting on Facebook, WhatsApp, and other social media apps, but it can lead to a sense of lack, if everyone seems to be having more fun and enjoying a better life than we are. This is not healthy for us.
Regards motivation, curiosity can mask as concern; and only if we know someone well, can we tell whether they are just being curious, or concerned.
Schadenfreude : For example, someone may be curious to hear how you are doing in a new job, or a new relationship, secretly hoping that things are not going well for you. The German word for enjoying other people's failures is called Schadenfreude.
When all is said and done, however, the advantages of being curious outweigh the disadvantages. You will discover many things that can be of value to your life. Like when I discovered why a low performance streak in my career is most likely to be followed by a higher performance streak. Besides curiosity is fun - check out the links to some of my previous curiosity-stimulating fun posts at the end of this post, and tell me if you agree.
True or false - there's a lot to think about when it comes to curiosity, and its unique and special place in our lives.
Fun previously-published posts of mine which will make you curious:
No comments:
Post a Comment