Bring Curiosity into the Workplace

You know how amazingly curious children are in life. They see the world as full of possibilities without limits. They question everything they see and hear, ask questions repeatedly and refuse to accept the short answers.

They are very observant and enjoy doing what they do day and night. They fall and fall but never give up until an adult scares them on the potential dangers. When you become an adult, behaviour changes dramatically. We are no longer curious, we are told to listen to orders, operate within a scope, not to question superiors, to adhere to processes - don't we have more DONTs than DOs?

Curiosity is an important trait for anyone who hopes to be successful. Look at history, the inventors, creators and geniuses - they have all succeeded because of their curiosity. In the modern day, look at the most successful entrepreneurs. Even adventures come from curiosity.

How can curiosity help you?

Curious people always ask questions and search for answers in their minds. Their minds are always active. When you are curious about something, your mind expects and anticipates new ideas related to it.

When the ideas come they will soon be recognized. Without curiosity, the ideas may pass right in front of you and yet you miss them because your mind is not prepared to recognize them. Just think, how many great ideas may have been lost due to lack of curiosity? By being curious you will see new worlds and possibilities which are normally not visible. They are hidden behind the surface of normal life, and it takes a curious mind to look beneath the surface and discover these new worlds and possibilities. The life of curious people is far from boring. It's neither dull nor routine. To inculcate curiosity back in you, you need to have a curious mind. Be open to learn, unlearn, and re-learn. Some things you know and believe may be wrong, and you should be prepared to accept this possibility and change your mind.

If you just accept the world as it is without trying to dig deeper, you will certainly miss out on the opportunities. Try to dig deeper beneath the surface of what is around you. Ask questions and invite questions.What, why, when, who, where, and how are the best friends of curious people.

Possibilities

Whenever you label something as boring, you close one more door of possibilities. Curious people are unlikely to call something as boring. Instead, they always see it as a door to an exciting new world. Even if they don't yet have time to explore it, they will leave the door open to visit another time. If you see learning as a burden, there's no way you will want to dig deeper into anything. That will just make the burden heavier. But if you think of learning as something fun, you will naturally want to dig deeper.

Look at life through the glasses of fun and excitement and enjoy the learning process. Don't spend too much time on simply one world; take a look at another world. It will introduce you to the possibilities and excitement of other worlds which may spark your interest to explore them further.

One easy way to do this is to be interested in, reading and exposing yourself to diverse subjects beyond your favourite. This will allow you to feed your mind with the excitement of a new world.

There is a saying "Let go of old knowledge and acquire new". While this makes a lot of sense to prepare you for new challenges, retaining habits and behaviour that help you to search and discover the unknown in a creative way is equally important.