How I Use Curiosity As My Secret Weapon
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” ― Albert Einstein
In Victoria Labalme’s new book “Risk Forward”, she asks you to do a deserted island exercise.
“If you were on a deserted island dying and you knew you weren’t going to make it . . . that this was the end . . . but there was a young person there with you — someone you cared about deeply . . . and if — before you died — you could give that young person only one piece of advice about life and how they might best live theirs . . . what would that one piece of advice be?”
I tried to think of what has helped me the past few years, and then it hit me.
Curiosity.
Curiosity comes more naturally to some people, but I believe it can be built like a muscle, and once you start getting curious about something, it naturally compounds. Asking “why” about something usually leads to more “whys”.
Curiosity has helped me…
With My Professional Life: As a marketer, curiosity is one of the top traits you can have. You need to always be curious about your customer, digging deep into who they are and why they want to buy.
With My Personal Growth: I have been intensely curious about different productivity and organization models for the past few years. I have gone so far as investing in a course about learning how to learn.
With My Relationships: Something magical happens when you are more interested in the other person versus just talking about yourself. Active listening keeps you present, and people can pick up on it.
With My Social Anxiety: As I got older, I started developing some pretty severe social anxiety. A trick I discovered was if you are in a social situation and feel anxiety creep up, become very curious about the people you are with. It shifts the attention away from you and relieves the anxiety.
“Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.”
– James Stephens
