Stay curious
When we are curious about other people, we have better conversations. We pay closer attention. We learn more.
When we are curious about the world around us, we experience greater wonder and joy. Life becomes less like work and more like play
When we are curious about ourselves, we gain useful insight into our thoughts, emotions, habits, etc. We become less judgmental toward ourselves. We learn to take ourselves less seriously.
Curious is not something we either are or are not. It is a mental state we should aspire to exist in more often.
Like most mental states, curiosity deepens when exercised. We exercise curiosity by asking questions. I think most of us, most of the time, don’t ask nearly enough questions.
Take curiosity in other people
Ask people questions, and listen intently to their answers. We can become more curious about others by recognizing that we know far less about people than we think we do. Kevin Kelly advises us that, when you meet other people:
You see only 2% of another person, and they see only 2% of you. Attune yourselves to the hidden 98%.
When you recognize you have something to learn from everyone, you can instantly take greater interest in others. Kevin also writes:
Every person you meet knows an amazing lot about something you know virtually nothing about. Your job is to discover what it is, and it won’t be obvious.
Take curiosity in yourself
Our inner worlds should fascinate us. What are we thinking? What are we experiencing right now? Why might we be thinking or experiencing this? Taking interest in ourselves just makes life more interesting.
Zen Buddhism emphasizes the concept of Beginner’s Mind: approaching everything with a sense of wonder, without preconceived notions and judgments. We can apply this mindset to ourselves, along with other people and the world around us.
It becomes easier to take curiosity in ourselves when we physically relax. This is why guided meditations encourage people to let go of all tension in the body, over and over again. It is hard to become curious about our inner lives when we are gripped by physical tension.
Slowing down also helps us to be more curious. Too often, we are in a rush from one thing to the next. Curiosity needs space to exist. We can pause to become curious about ourselves without losing our bias toward action.
Closing thoughts
You should ask people more questions, including yourself. People are always changing. We always have more to learn. We can always deepen our sense of wonder about the world.
Albert Einstein nicely sums up the importance of curiosity:
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day.
