Curiosity is a Superpower
Today I took my curiosity for a walk. What are those plants with the purple blooms? Why are some of them in different states of bloom and decay even though they are more or less in the same spot? Would they be good sketching material for this afternoon? What if I sketched them along with these nearby little yellow blooms but at different scales to create something believable but that doesn’t actually exist?
A curiosity-inspired exploratory sketch of the Knapweed spotted on my walk.
I’ve lately been curious about curiosity.
We all know that children are curious creatures. They both delight and exhaust us with their “whys” and they will happily spend hours exploring their “what ifs” for no other reason than the simple desire to know. Their curiosity is a superpower – a brilliant evolutionary strategy that ensures they arrive in the world excited to gather information, discover things, and build the knowledge structures upon which they will depend to survive and thrive.
But what about adults? Do we get to a point where we’ve learned enough? Where we’re comfortable with life as it is? Where the pull of the familiar drowns out the drive to explore?
Does curiosity diminish as we age?
The short answer is no. And yes. Our capacity for curiosity doesn’t diminish with age. In fact, our expansive knowledge networks can lead us on exploratory journeys of great depth. On the other hand, it’s easy to become complacent as we age. We have comfortable routines and we have worked hard to create a sense of certainty and predictability in our lives. Why mess that up with curiosity?
What’s so great about curiosity?
People are designed to be curious just like greyhounds are designed to run. Both can probably still survive if those natural tendencies are caged, but they are unlikely to flourish.
How does curiosity help us be our best selves?
Curiosity makes you smarter. Curiosity and knowledge have a symbiotic relationship: The more curious we are the more we learn. The more we know, the more curious we often become, driving us to learn even more. This ongoing process of learning and questioning, learning and questioning means that curious people – whether at work or in the rest of life – learn more, master more skills, remember things better, and adapt to change more easily than the non-curious.
Curiosity keeps your brain young. Scientists have been saying for years that keeping mentally active helps your brain stay sharp and agile and may reduce your risk for certain types of dementia. The oft recommended ways to do that are crossword and Sudoku puzzles. But these are like low-dose vitamins compared to curiosity. The on-going learning fueled by the “whole foods holistic” mindset of curiosity is a powerful way to keep your brain young by encouraging the creation of new neurons and fresh neural pathways.
Curiosity makes you less susceptible to bias and errors. Fast decisive bold decisions are more prized than ever in the bro-leadership culture. But speed encourages falling back on assumptions, biases, and stereotypes. Curiosity, on the other hand, is slow. It encourages one to pause, to more thoroughly explore information and perspectives, and to consider a wider range of decision alternatives.
Curiosity helps build strong relationships. Research shows that an open and curious mindset is more likely to lead to positive social interactions, setting the stage for more intimate and meaningful relationships and helping to reduce conflict.
Genuine curiosity isn’t just beneficial in your personal life – it can also enhance relationships in your work life. Teams that are primed to be curious have been shown to perform better than other teams because they share information more openly and listen more carefully.
Curiosity fuels creativity. Curiosity powers learning and leads to the broad and densely interconnected knowledge structures that support creative thought. Tapping into this knowledge network by asking curiosity-inspired questions like “What if..,” “Why not..,” or “How can I…,” encourages an inner voyage of creative exploration where ideas and discoveries may be unearthed.
Cultivating curiosity
Despite all the things that curiosity has going for it, it is vulnerable to benign neglect. If we don’t want our curiosity muscles to atrophy, we must regularly exercise them.
How can you cultivate curiosity?
Notice things. Unplug and expand your attention. What’s going on in your world?
Lean into mystery by asking questions. Mystery invites curiosity. Create a sense of mystery by asking questions as you go about your day and as you interact with people.
If you are in a leadership position, you can encourage others to lean into curiosity. Research has shown that curiosity can be cultivated through questions, prompts, modeling behavior, and other interventions. This is not only good for people, it’s good for business. People who are more curious are more likely to be innovative at work and more satisfied with their jobs.
Follow your interests and learn more. Expose yourself to new ideas and experiences. Let your interests spark your curiosity and follow where it leads.
Again, if you are in a leadership position, you can help create a structure to make sure people get some time and resources to explore ideas, broaden their interests, and share their thoughts. Google made this approach popular with their “20% rule” which ostensibly allows employees to spend 20% of their work time on passion projects of their own choosing.
Delay judgement. It’s so easy to make snap judgements by quickly swiping away someone on a dating app, giving a like while scrolling through social media, or making a rapid decision to be dismissive of someone because they don’t seem to have much to offer you. But the quick thinking of judgement kills curiosity. Instead, try delaying judgement and firing up the slower thinking of curiosity. You just might learn something useful.
Make time to reflect. Embrace the new but allow it to mature into something deeper by taking time to process information rather than just consuming it. Turn your curiosity inward by scheduling time to contemplate or write about what you are doing and learning.
Take it easy. I think of curiosity as a gentle process. You are not demanding an answer, single-mindedly striving toward a solution, or trying to quickly determine some truth. Instead, there is a sense of exploring with an open mind. Of directing the spotlight but not imposing your own preconceived ideas on what you will see. Curiosity is an invitation for something new to enter your head and make itself at home.
Curious Environments
We can do a lot to cultivate our own curiosity but environment also matters. Schools, workplaces, communities, institutions, and the digital environment can foster curiosity or they can squelch it.
Sometimes, this squelching of curiosity is deliberate – curiosity, by its nature, is hard to control and often works against the status quo. But more often than not, it is unintentional. Schools get wrapped up in teaching to standards and tests, leaving little time to indulge curiosity. Trainings are so focused on providing as much information as possible that they fail to spark the questioning and contemplation that will generate interest and turn that information into knowledge. Organization leaders say they value inquisitive minds but then end up stifling exploration in favor of efficiency or because they are worried about disagreements that could delay decision making.
So how do you create an environment that supports curiosity? There are some hints above but there is at least another post’s worth of things I could say on the topic. Indeed, just such a post – on environments for creativity and by extension curiosity – is in the works so keep an eye out for it. Hopefully your curiosity is piqued!
Wielding the power of curiosity
I increasingly view curiosity not only as a way of gathering knowledge and experiences that might be useful or as a way of powering creativity, but also as a tiny act of positive rebellion. In a world focused on productivity – true even in the art world – I can choose to explore a tangent that might not lead anywhere but that just might spark an idea down the road. In an information environment that promotes passive consumption, I can choose to dig beneath or away from the headlines. And in culture where influencers and others are constantly telling us what to think and do, I can choose to find my own path.
Where will your curiosity lead you?
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”
“Curiosity is insubordination in its purest form. ”
“Curiosity killed the cat.”
– Agent Vega.
”It also cured polio.”
– Simon”