“To maintain the state of doubt and to
carry on systematic and protracted inquiry
— these are the essentials of thinking,”
John Dewey
Curiosity Fuels A Vigorous Intellect
“Curiosity is one of the permanent
and certain characteristics
of a vigorous intellect”
Samuel Johnson
A vigorous intellect, now there’s something to think about. My first impression upon seeing the above quote was one of movement, one of gears meshing and cranking the workings within my mind. Cranking forward, with a drive to know something beyond standing up from the chair I was sitting in. Cranking forward, an unencumbered awareness embracing the blossoming of everything before me.
It will come as no surprise that I harbor a huge bias when it comes to the curiosity. For me curiosity is the most crucial building block we possess and also one of the most neglected building blocks we possess.
We can’t take it for granted that people who are or appear smart are also curious. Often as the years roll by many of us become less curious, to me it would make sense that we’d become more curious. But curiosity often means taking risks and extending your mind into questions and places its rarely if ever been. Does that sound attractive? No, and that’s where many of us leave the idea of becoming more curious before we even step off the pier.
Leaving curiosity bound, gagged and deeply hidden in the nether regions of our mind is sad, it’s also really bad for relationships and for business. How can we think we have a vigorous intellect that’s working at it’s peak if we are afraid to challenge our own tightly held beliefs. Let in some fresh air.
I’m added a short video below that wonders about The Power of Outsiders… In any organization the thinking of outsiders often see solutions that insiders miss. But bringing in outsiders is not the only solution to change your culture of thinking. You can infuse your team with new curios thinking using new ways of thinking such as Dialogue.
An Engine Of Achievement Always Arising
“Curiosity
is the
engine of
achievement.”
Ken Robinson
I often mention how opportunity arises many many times within each moment, how it never ceases to unfold into availability for us to embrace. But often we miss the myriad of opportunities because we cast aside Curiosity in our rush to crave or reject what’s happening in front of our eyes. Current reality is the first causality of ignoring curiosity.
Curiosity truly is the engine of achievement chugging along atop the tracks of our very short lives, at times pleading with us to search deeper into the questions arising within our minds and arising within opportunity itself.
Curiosity is nothing to shun or schedule for another day. No, curiosity is the beginning of every journey of discovery we embark on and every journey we avoid. Curiosity fuels the engine of achievement like water fuels our bodies and minds enabling us to embrace the journey.
Feeling Completely Surrounded? What Can You Do?
Maybe your cell phone feels a bit heavy today, or traffic has become your least best friend as you make your way to work today. Feeling completely surrounded has become as common as apples in a pie, but not nearly as tasty or pleasing to slice into. And what the heck does all this talk about feeling completely surround have to do with curiosity, anyways?
Often, when we’re feeling completely surrounded our ability to seek out new answers to puzzles nagging us gets derailed. With the walls closing in on us why on earth would we want to explore new and interesting ideas and places in our life? Why would we focus on our coworkers excited words as she tells us of her most recent discovery? These are all interesting questions to ask ourselves but honestly they’ll keep us locked under house arrest for much longer than necessary.
The very feelings and sensations of feeling completely surrounded is the absolutely best time to get up and go in search of the new, to go in search of the unsettling and to dig into areas you’ve never dug before. Stretch yourself when you’re feeling hemmed in with the walls pulsating with anxiety. Challenge your assumptions till they vanish into thin air, you may find yourself liberated for the first time in a long time.
The weighty sensations of feeling completely surrounded are also a time to unplug from the distractions that literally do surround you. We all are tethered to a myriad of devices seemingly constantly clawing at us for our attention, unplug them, shut them off or put them in a drawer and walk away, at least for a little while.
And watch the short video below, maybe it’ll make you smile… 🙂
>
If You Don’t Make Mistakes That’s A Mistake
“If you don’t make mistakes,
you’re not working on
hard enough problems.
And that’s a big mistake.”
F. Wikzek
I’ve always made mistakes and never thought much about it, I’m not sure why. On the other side of the equation, if I’m not making mistakes I quickly fall headlong into boredom, losing interest in what I’m doing which is often accompanied by the urge to escape. What exactly I’d be escaping from is subject to debate, but the need to know more, do more and learn more vibrates throughout my being.
Stretching yourself a little extra each day will start #creativity snowballing in your life. Click To Tweet
It’s an easy bench mark to be aware of, “if you don’t make mistakes.” If I’m not making mistakes then chances are I’m not doing things that offer opportunities for me to stretch myself and learn new things. Of course if you don’t want to stretch yourself and learn new things that’s your choice and it’s may be a good idea to check out another website to avoid feeling like I’m pointing a finger at you ( I Am).
Our only real challenge is within ourselves, within our hearts and minds, it’s there that we can become more of who we are, not different necessarily but certainly more.
And what exactly does a person need to do to become more, I’m glad you asked. To grow, blossom, and prosper more each day requires taking one step after another along the Path of Curiosity. The journey may last your entire life, yet the effort required is small. Put one foot in front of the other and repeat. As each moment unfolds take a step, not another step, not two steps, take one step. Live within each moment with wonder because each moment is the only reality we have. Take one step then the next and then the next.
Ultimately curiosity is the art of questioning everything without judgment or assumptions that cling to and warp the questions into grotesque finger pointing fear based reactions to the unknown. (mouthful or what?) Curiosity has no walls or fences to control it or shape it into a polite guest at a tea party. Curiosity is neither elitist nor angry. curiosity only wants to know and even as I type I realize I too am trying to catch it, trying to explain the explainable. Curiosity is moment unfolding into moment with choiceless awareness. That’s it, right? (laugh if you must)
Let Books Open Your Mind Everyday
“Books open your mind,
broaden your mind,
and strengthen you
as nothing else can.”
William Feather
I remember. From time to time I find a nugget of insight attached to a memory, the memory expands into the present moment from a past moment I was reading a book.