Cling fiercely to a childlike wonder of the world.
Protect your inner tourist at all costs.
Ask questions unapologetically.
Deepen an insatiable need to know.
Seek knowledge for its own sake.
It all begins with paying more attention.
Showing posts with label curiosity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label curiosity. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Capacity for Growth
Your capacity for growth is in direct proportion to your desire for growth. I love what Irish poet, John O'Donohue says about the importance of devotedly interacting with each of our days.
"When you are faithful to the risk and ambivalence of growth, you are engaging with life."
He goes on to say the soul loves risk.
The only way we grow is by first understanding the need to. To strive towards our vision of the world rather then merely keep it tucked away in the chambers of our soul where it never rises above theory.
"When you are faithful to the risk and ambivalence of growth, you are engaging with life."
He goes on to say the soul loves risk.
The only way we grow is by first understanding the need to. To strive towards our vision of the world rather then merely keep it tucked away in the chambers of our soul where it never rises above theory.
Monday, December 25, 2017
Be Quiet
Many years ago a friend of mine casually strolled into class while blasting his earphones. He took his iPod out of his pocket and placed them in his bag before taking a spot on the floor before the start off class.
Nobody thought anything of it.
My teacher on the other hand stood quietly in the corner taking mental note of a lesson only she could tease out of such a seemingly trivial moment.
"That's the hard part," she said. "To resist the temptation to block out the world."
That was nearly ten years ago.
The temptation to "block out the world" has only grown. Today, there are a plethora of screens we can easily bury ourselves in. We can Post, Tweet, and Pin our little hearts out without coming for air.
The value of silence is no longer honored.
Perhaps its because silence now seems too daunting a task.
But it need not be.
Solitude is different than isolation.
It's in those moments of silence, however brief, we discover we know more than we realize.
And as we dig deeper into that unproclaimed wisdom we can cultivate a deeper and more nuanced curiosity about ourselves and subsequently the world.
Nobody thought anything of it.
My teacher on the other hand stood quietly in the corner taking mental note of a lesson only she could tease out of such a seemingly trivial moment.
"That's the hard part," she said. "To resist the temptation to block out the world."
That was nearly ten years ago.
The temptation to "block out the world" has only grown. Today, there are a plethora of screens we can easily bury ourselves in. We can Post, Tweet, and Pin our little hearts out without coming for air.
The value of silence is no longer honored.
Perhaps its because silence now seems too daunting a task.
But it need not be.
Solitude is different than isolation.
It's in those moments of silence, however brief, we discover we know more than we realize.
And as we dig deeper into that unproclaimed wisdom we can cultivate a deeper and more nuanced curiosity about ourselves and subsequently the world.
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Always Be a Tourist
Just because your trip must eventually
come to an end doesn’t mean your curiosity has to. When you return home remember to protect your curiosity and "inner tourist." Constantly be on the look out for new things to see and do.
I used to marvel at how people living in New
York seldom took the time to glance up at some 100-year old building, or appreciate its elaborate architecture. Appreciating our surroundings also diminishes our ability to take things for granted. A skill very much worth honing.
Monday, January 30, 2017
Maintain a Child's Mindset
I recently came across a terrific interview with Robert Greene, the author of The 48 Laws of Power.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND4ukcL8RPI
During the interview Greene talks about a man named Daniel Everett who attempted to learn a language called, Piraha - an indigenous language of an isolated group of less than 420 people living along the Maici River in north-western Brazil. It is considered to be the most complicated language in the world.
Everett found learning the dialect nearly impossible. Still he believed in time he could learn the language because he noticed children had the capacity to pick it up and so he figured could as well.
Through his own failure to master the language he discovered the reason the children were able to seamlessly speak Piraha was for two main reasons:
1. Their survival depended up on it.
2. They had not yet developed a "holier than thou" mindset.
In other words, with adulthood comes experience. And with that experience often comes the assumption that we know it all, particularly when it comes to a field or craft we've spend considerable time honing.
When we adopt this mentality we invariably close ourselves off from learning new things. The trick is to appreciate that someone will always know something we don't and, if possible, protecting a childlike curiosity and mindset.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND4ukcL8RPI
During the interview Greene talks about a man named Daniel Everett who attempted to learn a language called, Piraha - an indigenous language of an isolated group of less than 420 people living along the Maici River in north-western Brazil. It is considered to be the most complicated language in the world.
Everett found learning the dialect nearly impossible. Still he believed in time he could learn the language because he noticed children had the capacity to pick it up and so he figured could as well.
Through his own failure to master the language he discovered the reason the children were able to seamlessly speak Piraha was for two main reasons:
1. Their survival depended up on it.
2. They had not yet developed a "holier than thou" mindset.
In other words, with adulthood comes experience. And with that experience often comes the assumption that we know it all, particularly when it comes to a field or craft we've spend considerable time honing.
When we adopt this mentality we invariably close ourselves off from learning new things. The trick is to appreciate that someone will always know something we don't and, if possible, protecting a childlike curiosity and mindset.
Saturday, October 8, 2016
Focus
We live in a time of seemingly limitless opportunity. We have more "friends" than we can manage. Communication has never been easier. You can even choose your favorite platform. And businesses, large and small, can be run from a coffee shop.
Yet, with these freedoms also comes more noise, thus more distraction. And with more distraction comes a greater necessity to zero in on how exactly we hope to make our dent in the world. It's wonderful to be multi-passionate, to have a boundless sense of curiosity, worldliness, and a desire to seek, experience, and know more.
But I've discovered when it comes to attaining any type of success both professionally and personally (however you define it) it's simply a matter of choosing to focus rather than dabble.
Yet, with these freedoms also comes more noise, thus more distraction. And with more distraction comes a greater necessity to zero in on how exactly we hope to make our dent in the world. It's wonderful to be multi-passionate, to have a boundless sense of curiosity, worldliness, and a desire to seek, experience, and know more.
But I've discovered when it comes to attaining any type of success both professionally and personally (however you define it) it's simply a matter of choosing to focus rather than dabble.
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Not Understanding
I think the root of a great deal of angst comes from our failure to understand why life sometimes unfolds the way it does. I've spent far too much time racking my brain to figure out why a romantic relationship failed, wondering what I could have done differently.
I have tried over and over to figure out why my extraordinary efforts towards a pursuit did not bear the fruits I hoped it would.
And I've certainly felt my fair share of frustration from college admissions offices to literary agents to casting directors.
As a child I looked at not understanding something with a sense of wonder, a curiosity that has sadly been swapped for apprehension. Of course, as one grows older you gradually begin to know what you don't know, which is important for any meaningful self-development. It's important we continue to strive, to learn, to combat our ignorance.
But what if there was a sweet spot? A place where instead of getting worked up about why you weren't cast in a role, or your book was denied publication, or perhaps a blog you thought would resonate with people didn't we maintained a sense of poise. What if we eased into the unknown and didn't get worked up about the million or so variables we didn't even consider leading up to the result?
What if we looked at failure as feedback and used it as an opportunity to adjust our approach while not being so hard on ourselves? I'm convinced this would put years back on our lives.
Maybe there's a place where not understanding something is okay. Perhaps instead, we can tap back into our inner child and pivot back towards curiosity and that wonderful flexibility in thinking we often lose as we get older.
Just a thought.
I have tried over and over to figure out why my extraordinary efforts towards a pursuit did not bear the fruits I hoped it would.
And I've certainly felt my fair share of frustration from college admissions offices to literary agents to casting directors.
As a child I looked at not understanding something with a sense of wonder, a curiosity that has sadly been swapped for apprehension. Of course, as one grows older you gradually begin to know what you don't know, which is important for any meaningful self-development. It's important we continue to strive, to learn, to combat our ignorance.
But what if there was a sweet spot? A place where instead of getting worked up about why you weren't cast in a role, or your book was denied publication, or perhaps a blog you thought would resonate with people didn't we maintained a sense of poise. What if we eased into the unknown and didn't get worked up about the million or so variables we didn't even consider leading up to the result?
What if we looked at failure as feedback and used it as an opportunity to adjust our approach while not being so hard on ourselves? I'm convinced this would put years back on our lives.
Maybe there's a place where not understanding something is okay. Perhaps instead, we can tap back into our inner child and pivot back towards curiosity and that wonderful flexibility in thinking we often lose as we get older.
Just a thought.
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