The Importance of Curiosity

Via Richard Wiseman:

The old adage suggests that curiosity killed the cat. However, research suggests exactly the opposite.

According to work carried out by Todd Kashdan of George Mason University, curiosity is central to well-being. Kashdan found that people who rated themselves as curious reported higher levels of satisfaction with life than others, and less likely to derive pleasure from hedonistic behaviors such as sex, drugs and drinking.

Other work suggests that the benefits from curiosity stem from the intrinsic pleasure of finding out more, stretching yourself rather than sticking in a rut, and increased likelihood of spending time with others.

To help create a more curious life….

- Always order a dish you have never tried before in restaurants, take a different route to work or watch a TV programme you have never seen before.

- Ask yourself an interesting question each week. How do elephants communicate over hundreds of miles? Why do people laugh? Why are bananas yellow?

- Visit this site and go to a random webpage.

- Think of someone that you have worked with for years and write down a couple of words to describe that person. Now generate an alternative way of seeing them by thinking about their physical characteristics, hobbies and interests, or their dreams and ambitions.

What's the point without the capacity to wonder and be amazed?