Curiosity has been one of the quiet driving forces of my life. Being curious about everything keeps me from complacency and fills my life with many interesting things to think about.
Bottom line: I hate being bored more than anything else, and curiosity is my best antidote.
While entertainment and most other pleasures yield diminishing returns, curiosity grows the more it’s fed. Some pleasures can spiral into addiction the more you feed them, but curiosity often leads to new opportunities and personally satisfying hobbies.
Being curious also makes you more interesting and interested in others—so there are also pro-social benefits.
I’ve come to realize some people really do want to experience curiosity but have elevated practicality for so long that they aren’t sure how.
7 Ways to Stoke the Fire of Curiosity
1. Ask Questions About Everything
Questions are the bedrock of curiosity, and they don’t have to be deep, intelligent questions to be effective. The smartest and most curious people I know are fearless in asking the “dumb” questions that everyone assumes you should know already. A great place to begin is to look around you and ask yourself why things are how they are.2. Don’t Think You Know Someone
Human beings are endlessly fascinating if you’re willing to move beyond a surface-level generalization of their behavior. I’ve been married to my wife for nearly 14 years, and she still surprises me. How wonderful that we can continue to know someone deeper year after year.3. Follow the Rabbit Trails
Curiosity is often dismissed too soon because people are worried about wasting time or not being efficient. Properly following a rabbit trail is different than endlessly scrolling on your phone. A good thought trail involves active engagement, a pursuit of knowledge, and enjoyment of the pursuit itself—those things are often missing in mindless social media sessions.4. Learn About Geography
I heard this advice long ago, and it’s stuck with me because of how useful it’s been. When you mentally organize a meaningful portion of your interests around geography, you'll have many hooks to hang facts and anecdotes.
5. Put Yourself in Novel Situations
Being curious is about seeing the world in fresh ways. It’s hard to do that from the vantage point of your ordinary habits and routines. When you put yourself in strange, challenging, or even confusing places, you'll be forced to see the world anew. The key is to reframe these experiences as adventures instead of viewing them as inconvenient or disorienting.6. Learn About Different Cultures
Every time I’ve traveled somewhere new, whether studying abroad in England or visiting the southern United States, I’ve noticed many aspects of life that are typically background noise in my regular life. For example, in England, without a car, I had to walk and take public transportation everywhere. I had a more intimate connection with the town I lived in than I ever experienced in all my years living in the United States. From there, I explored the topic of urbanism and had many interesting conversations with friends about the subject.7. Read Outside Your Normal Scope
While physical travel and experiences might be an impactful way to stoke your curiosity, reading might be the most accessible. The very best book or long-form article on any subject is likely written by someone with a whole window of insight into a world you never knew existed.While your family and friends may have had many of the same experiences as you, reading invites you to see through the eyes of people from other parts of the world or periods of time. It’s the quickest way I know to cultivate and satisfy my curiosity.
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