Curiosity drives
We all have intrinsic motivators. It means we motivate ourselves, not others. I believe one of the biggest things driving people is curiosity.
Remember yourself being a kid? How inquisitive you were to the whole new world around you. Your first steps of gaining emotional and mental experience were cycled this way:
- Trying something new
- Failing or succeeding
- Learning or getting excited
There were many adventures and surprising events in childhood, right?
If you believe life cannot often bring joy and amaze you, I invite you to read the thoughts below. It may help you see new ways of thinking.
Be like child
Begin with yourself. Step-by-step, no hurry. Every small change is welcomed.
While Simon Sinek convinces us to Start with Why, I believe, to get curious and become full of joy, you should start with What if!
These are just several of the examples:
- What if I take this new route?
- What if there will be interesting people?
- What if I learn another language to be able to express my mind?
- What if this new technology will help me out?
- What if I take a day off and have a day-long walk?
- What if playing a new video game together helps me understand my children better?
I would call it a curiosity mindset. Such an optimistic What if makes you maintain a positive spirit and build a habit of staying focused on good and pleasant things. Fair to say, some of us unlearned it when childhood was over.
“Let’s be friends” — I heard from one fellow several weeks ago. It’s just amazing! This is the phraze I could hear as a 7-year kid in a sandbox. I would not consider fear or anxiety at the very moment. I would curiously say “Yes!”. So, being almost 40-year old now, I also instantly replied, “Let us!”.
Be like scientist
Do you know what I like about scientists? The majority of them don’t give up after failures and push on until they reach the so-called Aha-moment.
It has to do with a growth mindset driven by curiosity. As opposed to fixed mindset, causing people to give up.
Imagine scientist Michael running an experiment publicly. Everybody can observe and react. And then it turns out the experiment fails. I would expect one of two possible reactions by Michael:
- OK, it hasn’t worked out, I go it. Let’s try something a bit different and increase effort
- What a shame, I give up because I can’t take it occurring again
The first one is Growth mindset reaction, while the 2nd — Fixed mindset reaction. Which one would you prefer? I bet the first one looks more promising for Michael.
The best experiments are those where you try to prove yourself wrong, like a good scientist does. At the end of the day, curiosity is humankind’s leading motivation to explore the Earth and endless universe.
Curiosity drives us to learn and feel more. Consequently, we see increasing number of opportunities. The more opportunities you notice and try — the more new ones you see. At some point, you’ll realise that it is not less than the whole ocean of opportunities around you!
Stay curious!
Sincerely,
Vitaliy Mokosiy
P.S. Congrats! You’ve read the blog till this point! So the TED talk comes as a bonus for you :-)
