Being curious can enhance our lives. Here are four ways to do so.
- Deepen your knowledge, fifteen minutes a day
Take a topic that intrigues and fascinates you, but which you know little or nothing about. An artist, an animal, a scientific discovery, a historic event, how to boil the perfect egg… whatever. Or commit to carefully reading at least one major article on the economics or science pages of the newspaper from beginning to end. - Ask questions
If it is out of genuine interest, you can ask anything. It’s the best way to learn about someone or something. Be willing to ask ‘silly’ questions. Some questions seem so obvious that they don’t get asked anymore. We think we already know the answer. Pose them anyway, as it’s often the case that the answer is just that little different.
- Get over your fear of failure
Challenging yourself leads to great rewards when you succeed. But not succeeding is different from failing, because the very act of trying makes you grow and feel satisfied. Realize that failures are an enrichment; the experience of failure is often a great learning opportunity. - Try new things
Even with just a vague interest in something, you will often automatically come across ideas and opportunities that you hadn’t noticed before. Seek out new experiences: taste something you’ve never eaten, listen to a new radio station, visit a local museum or any other interesting place that you don’t already know, or try learning from a colleague something you didn’t know before.
*More tips can be found in Issue 17.
Text Chris Muyres Photography Josh Couch/Unsplash.com