Last week I talked about how important it is to never stop learning. This week the focus is on curiosity.
Curiosity might have killed the cat, but it’s the pathway to a more enlightened, fulfilling, creative, exciting life. Let’s go back to our childhood when we were curious about everything. From the time we were babies, with our hands outstretched to touch anything, we had a never-ending level of curiosity about everything and everyone.
Yet, somewhere along the way, that level of curiosity started to diminish, and we began to lose interest in all the small miracles of life. We became victims of tunnel vision, sheltered into our own little world. Meanwhile, we were missing the splendor and wonder that’s all around us – in every single thing on this planet and in this universe. We’re missing out on so much!
The good news is we can decide that today is the day that we reignite our curiosity.
There are three benefits to lighting up our level of curiosity:
1. We experience deeper, richer relationships.
Try this exercise – focus all your attention on your partner. Spend the entire day asking them questions. Go deep. Make every interaction focused on your curiosity to learn more about them. Be completely present. That might seem challenging at first, but give it a try.
Then, watch how they respond to you. What’s more, watch how much more engaged you are and how much more interesting you find them, as you increase your knowledge of who they are. This process will deepen the connection, enrich the relationship, and grow the intimacy between the two of you…just by being more curious!
2. We open ourselves to learning more about the way everything works.
I don’t know about you, but…I never get in my car and think about what’s going on under the hood, or how the wheels spin, or the way the vehicle is put together. All I do is put the key in the ignition, and focus my attention on driving. Yet, isn’t it interesting and curious how cars work? It’s truly amazing when you think about it.
And, that’s just one example. Think about everything else that runs so perfectly and with such precision. Raise the level of your curiosity and reignite your fascination with how perfectly things run in your world. Most of us take that for granted and never give a second thought.
3. We start to feel young again.
Remember when we were young and we used to ask, “How come?” and “Why?” We asked those questions over and over and over again to our parents until we drove them half crazy. All we wanted were some answers!
Part of the reason why our curiosity got stifled was that, eventually, our parents would just give up. They would answer us with “because that’s just the way it is.” It wasn’t their fault, and truthfully, they probably didn’t have the answers anyway…because at some point in their lives, they had lost their level of curiosity.
So, what if we bring back that level of child-like curiosity? Start again by asking, “How come?” and “Why?” How fun!
Curiosity opens us to youthfulness in our hearts and our minds. Let’s bring more of that back into our lives.
Affirmation Statements:
LOVE IT!: I LOVE HOW CURIOUS I AM ABOUT LIFE!
THANK IT!: I AM GRATEFUL FOR MY CURIOSITY AND CHILD-LIKE WONDER!
BRING IT!: CURIOSITY KEEPS MY HEART AND MIND YOUNG, ACTIVE, AND ALIVE!
With Love,
Diane
Quote: “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” – Albert Einstein
If you like this, you will love:
3 Reasons to Never Stop Learning
What Questions Do You Ask Yourself?