Curiosity is one of the Eight Secrets. For a multitude of reasons, adults have a hard time being curious. For one, with a few exceptions, the educational system in this country seems to consider curiosity a disease, and they have a twelve-year treatment plan to remedy the situation (with four to six more available if you’re having trouble kicking the habit).
Meanwhile, most adults are afraid to ask questions because they’re too worried about what other people think of them. “They’ll all think I’m stupid,” goes the thought process. “Everyone else seems to know the answer; I’ll just pretend to know I do, too.”
Another reason for the lack of curiosity is that dang comfort zone of ours. We’re too busy and content making things just the way we like them that we hardly have time to look up from the din of our daily lives to wonder, think, or just ask “why?”
This weekend I was inspired to write a list of questions. One hundred of them.
The idea came from Scott Ginsberg, who got the idea from Leonardo Da Vinci.
It is quite an arduous task, but one that left me some interest insights. Here are a few highlights from my list:
9.) Is my planner filled with stuff that really matters?
22.) What are five things I need to let go of?
30.) What are three things we can do to have more fun at the office?
36.) How can I be a better husband?
56.) What three things to I want to teach my kids?
57.) What’s the perfect day?
71.) What are five activities that you’d be too scared to do?
72.) What if the Cubs won the World Series?
76.) Where am I failing to think big?
91.) What would happen if I gave TV up for a year?
93.) Where do I most want to see change in the world?
95.) Who are ten people that I really should reconnect with?
I’ve got a list of 100 questions, and it’s going to take me quite a while to sort through the answers. But I can’t believe how many little things have already changed in my life just because I decided to sit down and do this activity.
I can think of no better way to jump start your curiosity than to make a list like this. Give it a try!
[tags]curiosity, questions, 100 questions, Scott Ginsberg, Leonard da Vinci, why?[/tags]
[…] Perhaps some people raised their eyebrows when I suggested in my last post that our American educational system considers curiosity a disease. Well it sure seems like it to me, what with the OVER reliance on standardized tests and the OVER emphasis on fitting everyone into a standardized box. […]