“cu·ri·os·i·ty (kyo͝orēˈäsədē) noun a strong desire to know or learn something”
Think back to the time when you were a young child and every day was filled with wonder. What would you discover? What would you do? Where would you go? The day was overflowing with questions to ask and ideas to explore – all before breakfast!
Kids are smart enough, and naïve enough, to keep asking questions (Why? What does that mean?) until the answers they receive make sense to them. As toddlers move through childhood, and as adolescents become adults we stop asking those questions as often as our toddler selves.
Why do we stop questioning? Is it because it’s not cool to ask questions? Is it embarrassing to acknowledge we don’t understand a concept, a word, the rationale for a policy? Do we fear rufflinlg feathers by asking why? How many times have you asked a co-worker why they’re doing something and gotten the response: “we’ve always done it this way”?
When our curious self responds to “we’ve always done it this way” with “how about if we look at another approach,” magic can happen. Curiosity keeps us engaged. Curiosity moves us to discover new solutions to age-old issues, whether at work, at home, or at play. So, please, bring back your inner two-year-old self and ask those questions: Why? What does that mean? And keep asking until you get an answer that makes sense to you. Maybe you’ll wake up the next day with a renewed sense of wonder and yearning to explore.
