All known geniuses like Thomas Edison, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman were curious people. They all achieved what they did because of this quality - curiosity. As children, curiosity was our primary tool for learning anything and everything. Our curious eyes led us to explore beyond our permitted boundaries -- first crib, then our room, then slowly our neighborhood, and eventually countries. Along the way, curiosity helped bring clarity to our thoughts, doubts were cleared, and questions answered.
Curiosity helps you to be more creative, helps you think out 0f the box, and as a result discover or invent things that were not even imagined before. Curiosity helps you move out of your comfort zone, take risks that sometimes harm you, but at the end of the day, you are richer in your experience and know exactly what you want to believe in!
Why Curiosity is so Important?
- Brand New Ideas: From curiosity stems brand new ideas. A curious mind is always on the lookout for innovative ideas, which can be developed into something useful. Hundreds of ideas pass through our mind daily. Curiosity has the capacity to dig into it and bring out the best among them by keeping our thought process activated and energized.
- Unity in Diversity: The curiosity to know about the different cultures and traditions in a way brings different cultures together by breaking the barriers of ignorance that exist. Although the search may begin by "how are we different?", it ends up in understanding the differences and similarities and thereby being able to communicate more clearly and eradicate misunderstandings. This leads to unity among cultures and peaceful coexistence of communities.
- Excitement in Life: Life becomes very monotonous if you feel that you know everything what there was to know and become complacent in your state of affairs. Curiosity adds thrill and excitement to your life, and you start looking forward to life. In a way, you become more alive when you develop a child-like curiosity towards life.
How to Develop It?
The mundane nature of the day-to-day activities has the capacity to kill the natural curiosity of our mind. We, sort of, develop a resigned attitude and just go with the flow. However, by making a conscious effort, we can indeed bring back that lively characteristic of our mind.
- Ask Questions Frequently: Don't keep doubts to yourself. Clear your doubts all the time. This will help you move forward without getting stuck where you are forever.
- Keep an Open Mind: Having preconceived notions about various topics is a killer of curiosity. Be open to hear out others opinions as well. As much as life needs you to learn new things, you should be able to "unlearn" and relearn things. You may be surprised to know that what you thought to be true for a long time, does not make sense in the present context. You should be prepared to accept this possibility and change your mind. Isn't that the way to evolve?
- Make Learning More Fun: If you see learning as a burden, there's no way you will want to dig deeper into anything. They say, there is no age for learning. Also, there are more than one ways to learn things. If you feel that sitting and reading is boring, you can record the notes and listen to it. Of course, you can come out with more innovative ways to learn things. If it serves the purpose and keeps you interested in what you do, then why not?
- Challenge Yourself: One way of developing curiosity is by taking up a challenging project in your related field or creating a healthy competition among your peers. The competitive spirit will let you seek out more information in that subject.
- Develop on What You Already Know: So you are the "been there, done that" kind of person. No problem. You can still develop on what you already know. Everyone needs a brushing up on their skills, lest they rust! Once you venture out to learn something, the antennae of curiosity will start functioning on its own.
Some Interesting Quotes About Curiosity by Famous People
- "Everyone and everything around you is your teacher" - Ken Keyes.
- "There is nothing in the world as interesting as people, and one can never study them enough." - Vincent Van Gogh
- "Once you can see the boundaries of your environment, they are no longer the boundaries of your environment." - Marshall McLuhan
- "The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery." - Anais Nin
- "Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." - Marie Curie
- "We have a hunger of the mind which asks for knowledge of all around us, and the more we gain, the more is our desire; the more we see, the more we are capable of seeing." - Maria Mitchell
- "It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power." - Alan Cohen
The world, as we see it today, would not have happened if not for curious people who may have ventured into unknown territories just to satiate their curiosity, but lo and behold, came up with some fantastic discoveries and inventions, by which the present day scenarios became more comfortable for us to live in. Long live curiosity!
