Embrace Curiosity. It May beExactly What You Need

“The mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size.” Albert Einstein

As children, we possessed a beautiful curiosity for the world and how we engage with the world. This element of curiosity made life shine with excitement and anticipation for adventure. We saw a world of possibility, and intrigue, and unlimited potential.

The reality is sometimes we lose our childhood curiosity in place of adult responsibilities and life becomes boring, without challenge, and many days goes on auto-pilot. It happens because we need a reasonable amount of predictability in our lives so that we’re not overwhelmed with learning something new all day long. The problem arises when we stick to the known and abandon the unknown.

It doesn’t have to be an either/or scenario of predictability or adventure. We can have both in our lives and by welcoming this kind of co-existence, it brings a feeling of harmony in responsibility and exploration!

Curiosity plays a huge part to living a fully engaged life. Experts agree it encourages observation of the world, introspection, innovation and ultimately leads to personal growth and more importantly it’s a major factor in finding fulfillment and the belief that our life is well-lived.

Towards the end of the year, many of us find ourselves in a place of transition. Goals we set earlier in the year are in motion and may even be completed. We’re ready for a new adventure. We’ve grown bored. We’re tired of the monotony of our daily routine. We’re shuffling through the day. No pep in our step. No thrill or exhilaration, at all. This is common and it’s a gift, signaling we’re ready to find new a challenge and adventure!

Now is the time to start looking around for inspiration! I repeat, start looking, not doing. The holidays are most definitely not the time to add more to your to-do list with all the celebratory events, crafts and decorations, and gift- buying. Just wait.

If you’re noticing a feeling of boredom or becoming indifferent with your life and instead of feeling alive with interest and mentally or emotionally stimulated, you trudge through your days and it most certainly feels like a daily grind, it’s time to work your curiosity muscle. It certainly can’t hurt and most times, doesn’t require much extra effort.

All that’s needed are two things:

1. Observe the world around you. Watch people, machines, nature and allow yourself to wander off with questions like, “how does that work?”, “who thought of it?”, “what need does that serve?”, “why do people, animals or machines behave that way?”.

2. Explore the questions that bubble up from your observations. A little or a lot. You decide how much you want to learn. Follow where those questions lead you.

That’s all it takes. Now go out and see what’s new and interesting in the world!

Keep it Simple,
Just Teri

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