Curiosity is a powerful drive that can enhance your learning and motivation. It can help you discover new ideas, deepen your understanding, and find more joy and meaning in your studies. In this article, you will learn how curiosity works, why it is beneficial, and how to cultivate it in yourself and others.
Curiosity is the desire to know more about something that interests you. It involves two main processes: exploration and reward. Exploration is the act of seeking out new information, experiences, or challenges that stimulate your curiosity. Reward is the feeling of satisfaction, pleasure, or accomplishment that you get from exploring. Together, these processes create a positive feedback loop that motivates you to keep learning.
I think part of what allows me to love my job as a training consultant is that I'm curious! Not just about the topics I am facilitating but about others' perspectives and how they could apply what they've learned. My friends and co-workers laugh at the sheer number of things I look up on a daily basis but I just want to understand and learn about as much as possible!
As a coach I find curiosity a valuable tool. If I can start each session with clients with a beginners mindset, seeking to understand deeply then I can ask relevant proving questions that help to unlock blocked thinking and in turn ignite creativity for clients.
One wonderful aspect of curiosity is that it motivates us to try new things, and we are rewarded by our brains with the release of dopamine, the feel-good chemical. A few years ago I enrolled in an Improv class, and each class I felt that dopamine "high" from trying something new, and having fun along the way. Curiosity gives us that "push" towards these new, rewarding experiences!
Curiosity has many advantages for your learning and motivation. It can enhance your memory and retention by prompting you to pay more attention and process information more deeply. Additionally, it can boost your creativity and problem-solving by encouraging you to generate questions, hypotheses, and possibilities. Moreover, it can increase your engagement and enjoyment by making you find more relevance, value, and fun in your learning. This leads to higher levels of interest, enthusiasm, and persistence.
In a fundamental way, curiosity is about seeking and connecting: Connecting with ideas, questions, solutions and most importantly, people. Curiosity is seeking connections and connecting the dots so that we feel we are both contributing and are part of the whole of humanity and nature.
Research has found a correlation between curiosity and persistence-the more curious we are about something, the more we persist towards exploring it. This has certainly been true for me: As someone who is curious about curiosity, I prepared for 3 months for a TEDx talk I delivered last year, on top of my full-time job and caretaking responsibilities. It was easy to persist, though, because I was so curious about the topic, that I truly enjoyed the process. This persistence, among other things, is one great benefit of curiosity.
You can cultivate curiosity in yourself by being open-minded and curious, proactively self-directed, and playful and experimental. Don't limit yourself to what you already know or think; instead, be willing to explore new topics, perspectives, and experiences. Take charge of your own learning goals, plans, and actions, and don't be afraid to make mistakes or try new things. Ask questions, challenge assumptions, seek feedback, seek out opportunities and resources that match your interests and needs, treat learning as a game or adventure, experiment with different methods and tools, and celebrate your achievements.
One way to nurture your curiosity is to hone your ability to observe. What piques and keeps your interest? What do you find yourself musing about in your down time? In a new situation, what types of things do you pay attention to? Becoming skilled at noticing your curiosity — and giving it a bit of freedom to roam! — can help you to build this powerful, creative tool.
"Adopt an 'I don't know' mindset and keep it at the forefront of your thinking. Starting with any other orientation can diminish your curiosity. As Zen gurus advise, strive to maintain a beginner's mind always."
There are a few ways that I like to cultivate curiosity in myself: 1) First, become curious about your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. Ask yourself, "Why do I feel/think this way?" Don't judge yourself-just be curious. 2) Consider and seek out diverse perspectives. Find people, news outlets, and genres that are different from what you are used to, and offer a different perspective-you will deepen your knowledge, get new perspectives, become more open-minded and humble, and even make friends along the way. 3) Identify what I call a "joyful challenge" for yourself-something that will take yourself out of your comfort zone. For me, that was training for & completing my first marathon a few years ago. What is that for you?
You can cultivate curiosity in others by creating a supportive and stimulating learning environment. This can be accomplished by being a role model and mentor, demonstrating your own curiosity and enthusiasm for learning and guiding others to pursue their own learning paths. Additionally, you can provide opportunities and resources for others to explore their interests, create spaces and activities that foster curiosity, creativity, and dialogue, and invite and involve others in your learning projects and challenges. Lastly, it is important to respect the diversity of others’ backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Listen actively to their stories, ideas, and feedback; learn from them; and show appreciation for their contributions.
To cultivate curiosity in others, I like to ask them questions like "Why?" or "Tell me more" that help them to reflect on their thoughts and beliefs. I also like to observe what they seem to be curious about, and help them explore that curiosity whether it's going with them to a museum exhibit, getting them a book on the topic, or just being a listener as they share about their interests. We can all help one another to cultivate our curiosity in small and big ways.
Curiosity is not an inborn quality; it is a skill that can be measured and improved. To assess and enhance your curiosity, you can take a curiosity quiz or survey, such as the Curiosity Self-Assessment or the Curiosity Profile. You can also challenge yourself to increase your curiosity by setting a SMART goal or challenge, like learning something new every day or reading a book from a different genre each week. Additionally, you can track and reflect on your progress by keeping a journal, portfolio, or blog. Recording what you learned, how you learned it, and how you felt about it can help you recognize your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges.
Curiosity is like a muscle-we need to work it to strengthen it. A few things I like to do to improve my curiosity are: 1) Ask great questions (open-ended questions like Why, What if, How, etc.) of myself and others. 2) Be an active listener to others: deeply listen to both their words and their tone/feelings, so I can ask better questions and empathize better. 3) Consider and seek out diverse perspectives: ensure I am getting my news/perspectives from different sources, that my networks are diverse, & that I'm always seeking out a different way to look at things to deepen my understanding. 4) Learn and try new things: Every day is a chance to grow and to learn and try new things. I like to be intentional to make time for that & reflect.