Curiosity

It’s been a year since Curiosity landed on Mars. What a wonderful name for this magnificent space adventurer seeking to find new knowledge and understanding on a planet millions of mile away. That’s enough space talk for now…

What is curiosity?

Merriam-Webster defines curiosity as “the desire to learn or know more about something or someone”. Seeing as we’re not ones to question the dictionary, we won’t stay too long on this.

But we’d also like to add… curiosity is your gift of unending exploration. More than desire, it’s your opportunity to discover new gifts and talents.

Why is curiosity important?

Curiosity forces you your mind to be active—not passive—which is where most of the world lives. They live in passive states, accepting their default lives, as they exist in them.

It’s important because you become observant of new ideas, new worlds, and endless possibilities. Do you like excitement?

Good. Curiosity has your back.

Curiosity is a process of unlearning. We’re born into a natural state of curiosity. We don’t know anything.

We’re in constant states of observational learning. Unfortunately, as we grow older, we’re encouraged to be compliant, rather than push edges by being curious. People get stuck in their adult lives with fears of the unknown.

They get lost in self-limiting habits that prevent them from making changes. They stop exploring and settle for what they have and know. Staying curious is fundamental to lifelong learning, as it helps you to evolve. But one thing is certain… curiosity is a process of unlearning everything that has been spoon-fed to us our entire lives.

How do you develop curiosity?

1) Keep an open mind – We’ll talk more about openness later, but it seems necessary to mention this now. Stay open to learning, relearning, and unlearning. Be willing to be wrong. Be willing to be right. Nothing is ever certain.

2) Ask questions – What’s the quickest and most effective way to learn? Ask questions from known experts. How do you do that? Why is it done like that? Has it always been done that way? Who did it first?

3) Start reading – Books are yoga for the mind. They maintain an uncanny ability to throw you into immense states of curiosity. The only people we’ve ever met that don’t like to read are those that have never given it a chance. Give it a chance.

4) Conversations with strangers – Sure, it’s awkward. And that’s why it’s the perfect place to start. Not only will you become more self-aware (Hey, hey! Attitude #1), but you’ll learn about someone else in the process.

Quick thoughts on courage in your job search:

Get online and use the Internet to your advantage. Research companies you don’t know much about. Then, hop on LinkedIn and start connecting with people who work at the companies you’ve found interest in.

Use your imagination when it comes to jobs. If a particular company isn’t offering a particular position, but you feel like you can make a difference, go make an offer. You never know… you might just get the job.

At different points in time, people have created resumes on Pinterest and another sold himself on Amazon. Get curious with different platforms. Stand out amongst the rest.

Curiosity is within your grasp. And all it starts with is a question.