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"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." ~Albert Einstein
I am a naturally curious person. I love to learn about new things. The Oxford dictionary defines curiosity as a strong desire to know or learn something. Merriam Webster has one of my favorite definitions of curiosity which is interest leading to inquiry. My favorite definition comes from Brene Brown in her book, Atlas of the Heart. She says, "Curiosity is recognizing a gap in our knowledge about something that interests us, and becoming emotionally and cognitively invested in closing that gap through exploration and learning." According to many studies, curiosity can also release dopamine which is critical to maintaining and increasing motivation.
While I love curiosity, not everyone does. Not everyone sees themselves as naturally curious and some folks struggle to satisfy their curiosity while also creating content to put out into the world.
I think curiosity is an essential skill for life and happiness. In "A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life!", authors Brian Grazer and Charles Fishman say, "More than intelligence or persistence or connections, curiosity has allowed me to live the life I wanted." This is further borne out by the fact that curiosity may actually reduce your stress. In a 2018 article in the Harvard Business Review, Francesca Gino advised business leaders to "hire for curiosity" and further states that, "curiosity is associated with less defensive reactions to stress and less aggressive reactions to provocation."
Image created by author using ChatGPT
I also think curiosity is something that we're born with and we see in small children as they ask imaginative questions (Why isn't the sky orange?) or simply keep asking why over and over again. Sakichi Toyoda, the inventor of the Five Why's, probably invented the Five Why's when one of his two children were young. I worry that today's American education system can suck the creativity right out of kids with its focus on dualistic right and wrong thinking and standardized testing. This is why I'm passionate about making sure we're teaching people of all ages how to be more curious and turning that curiosity into creative output.
For the Dreemport x Creative Work Hour (CWH) Challenge for February, I plan to create content about how to harness to power of curiosity to do your work and bring more joy to your life. Specifically, I'm going to explore meditation. I'm planning to keep a curiosity journal about meditation. I'll share excerpts from my journal. I'll also share meditation exercises and other practical activities I did to explore my curiosity in addition to my curiosity journal. There might also be some more special images like the images in the post which where both created with ChatGPT as well as video and/or audio content.
I'd love to know what your thoughts are on curiosity. Do you struggle with something specific related to curiosity? What are your favorite ways to indulge your curiosity?