A lot of people think that being competent is the ultimate goal of their career, their life, or their educational endeavours. Well, being competent means that you are actually very good at what you do. That you know the rules guiding what you do, and you are abiding to it. It is true that it feels safe and comfortable to be competent, but the world is constantly changing, and it is doing so very quickly. The very skill that you are good at yesterday may just become useless today because of changes in trend and technology. If you focus only on competence, you will become limited, static, and outdated. This is why you have to be curious. That is, always be open to learning new things, asking questions, and updating your knowledge.
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When you know something very well, there is a tendency for you to begin to think that you have known it all, and it may close your mind to learning new things. When someone suggests new way to do the same task, for example, you will simply say that you have been doing it the other way and it has been working. This may limit you from seeing other ways of doing that. What you have to understand is that, that you are doing something in a way does not mean that it is the only way it can be done. Competence always looks back at what has worked in the past, while curiousity looks forward to what might work. If you stop asking questions simply because you think that you have known it all, you will become static.
Curiosity makes you to look at the world from a beginner's point of view. Just the way children look at things. You will agree with me that children do not worry about making mistakes or looking smart, they will always ask questions. What they want to know is how things work, and they will always ask questions. When you develop this habit, a lot of amazing things will happen. It will open you up to seeing opportunities where some others may have missed. Instead of being scared of changes, you will be excited about them and even embrace them. It is curiosity that will turn the boring old routine into an exciting adventure. It helps you to venture into the world of the unknown, and to try out new things.
I have come to realise that you can build curiosity daily. You do not have to change your entire life at once just to be curious. You can actually start from your daily habits. Learn to listen more than you speak. During listening, listen to understand that points that are being made, do not listen just to respond or reply. Observe things around you. Ask questions when you are in doubt or when you need to know more. Never assume that you have known everything that is meant to be known. Try to learn things outside your own particular field. Read new books, watch documentaries, attend seminars, get a new hobby. All these are part of what you can do to develop a curious mind.
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Competence may make you feel strong temporarily, but curiosity is the ultimate superpower. A lot of things that where discovered and invented even in the field of science happened as a byproduct of curiosity. In this world that is constantly changing, the most successful people are not those who think that they know everything, but the people who admit that they do not know as much as needs to be known but are willing to know more. It is curiosity that gives you the resilience to survive the ever-changing world. When one method does not seem to work or has stopped working, the curious mind will quickly learn other methods and adapt.
No matter what you know, do not assume you have known it all, so that you will not be trapped in a spot. There are people who mastered a particular thing in the past, but at the present, the same thing has become obsolete. Imagine if they did not upgrade and update. As the world evolves, so also will the demands of the world change. This is why you have to remain open-minded and curious to know more.
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