The value of curiosity

Asking the right questions is what curiosity is all about. This is what gives us our identity and indicates the root of our passions. By nurturing and embracing curiosity, we open ourselves up to endless possibilities, harnessing and exploring the power of knowledge.  Curiosity can pave the way to self learning to create a successful future. In fact it is a natural way of learning primarily through self reflection that helps us identify our challenges and enrich our minds. A curious mind releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter that makes one feel good. This positive reinforcement encourages all to continue seeking out new information and experiences.

Curiosity opens our minds to new information, questions, perspectives and connections. It is important for improving and excelling in any job.It is the most powerful tool that enables us to innovate.

 

Interventions with curiosity

Curiosity makes one discover things that one has been unaware of. As we keep asking questions, it helps us foster a love for continual learning, training, and development, all of which contribute to one’s growth as a leader. The questions could be as naive as why the orange is circular and not rectangular, or why the leaves of a plant are green. But such questions have often been the driving force behind many of the world’s most significant inventions and discoveries . It’s the spark that ignites the imagination and turns ideas into reality.

 

Attributes of curious people

Fundamentally, they ask many questions. They do not hesitate to accept their ignorance on any subject; and are open to learn from anyone. Having let go of their ego, they are willing to be wrong and are not afraid to make a mistake in their endeavour to learn new things.

 

Questioning: a declining urge

With the increasing dependency on social media, people know that no matter how hard the question might be, all our queries can be addressed by the internet. As this trusted availability is taken for granted, it decreases our curiosity and thereby our urge to question. Besides, affective and social factors such as ego problems, public humiliation, self-respect often affect one’s exploratory behaviour.These include fear of ridicule on asking a question and public humiliation. There also exists the foreboding know-it-all attitude that does not allow one to accept his ignorance. Thus, as we grow, our eagerness to ask questions declines. One also harbours the thought that it may not be necessary to know the answers due to the presence of technology in our lives. Lack of encouragement by adults to questions in our childhood discourages the child from developing his curiosity. For instance, when a child would ask his parent, “What are bricks made up of?” they will possibly get ‘clay’ as the answer.But when the child further asks about the constituents of clay, they would rather divert the discussion than expose their ignorance.

 

About the authors

The article has been contributed by the following students from Auxilium Convent School, Bandel: Aindrella Sarkar, Ankita Dutta, Sasmita Mitra, Sameeha Sadad and Soumisha Chatterjee.