Be Curious
Being inquisitive and interested is an admirable characteristic, both because it increases your own learning and also because it’s infectious. In addition, if you display curiosity, those around you will be more curious than they otherwise would have been.
An open, enquiring mind is a requirement for continuous learning and development. The alternative, a closed mind, is a recipe for stagnation and for the rate of change to exceed the rate of learning.
If you’re not naturally the sort of person who displays curiosity, it is possible for you to learn to become so. How easy or difficult this will be, depends on your starting point. If you feel curious, interested, and inquisitive… but don’t exhibit those behaviours, it’s comparatively easy to adopt behaviours that will demonstrate your curiosity. You could, for example, embrace a commitment to talk to people about what interests them, ask lots of questions, and demonstrate how interested you are in them. By feeling interested, you’re already halfway there and these behaviours should be quite easy to adopt.
If you don’t feel interested, it’s quite possible to feign interest. Most people will discover that if they pretend to be interested then they start to feel genuinely interested. Your outward, exhibited behaviour will affect your inner feelings… rather than the other way round.
Curiosity provides the springboard for learning and development. Curious, inquisitive people tend to:
- ask lots of questions
- think out loud
- have lots of ideas
- challenge conventional thinking
This is an admirable list.
Consistent curiosity is vital; it is the lifeblood of continuous improvement. All learning and development begins with curiosity.
Be Curious in all aspects of your life.
