Eric Wong of Zikira Properties is back again to share with us his thoughts on why curiosity is so integral in terms of helping us be better learners. Not only is it a good way to keep motivated, it’s also something to remember if you want to keep your relationships fresh and interesting.
Being a coordinator for the mentoring society at Sydney Boys, it dawned on Eric that a lot of people in high school were still struggling for something they could be passionate about. They’d dabbled in most subjects but couldn’t find an anchor that left them wanting more, which seems like a concern for many who are about to start tertiary education.
In my personal opinion, it comes down to one thing: curiosity.
Eric believes that this trait within us all is the one thing that differentiates between people who let life happen to them and those who make life happen. It’s the fuel to passion, really, because it means you’re cultivating a desire to find out more, to learn for learning’s sake, to partake in something you truly want to be in.
Though this curiosity can seem to diminish as we grow older, since we start having to take on responsibilities that we may not be wholeheartedly interested in, it’s still an innate characteristic to wonder about the current state of things. Why does the sky change colours at sunrise and sunset? How can bees fly? Where did all this curiosity go?
Once you cultivate and encourage yourself to question existing structures and think “What if?”, you can start to go outside your comfort zones and try new things. And when you’ve done that, you can naturally begin to test which things you’re most passionate about.
This mindset can be applied to relationships too, where you may notice that the curiosity you held for your significant other before things became comfortable can start to fade away after a few years. Holding on to that curiosity and constantly trying to get to know them better, to inquire about their day and find out what makes them tick, can strengthen and uplift your relationship.
Like all other great things in life, curiosity requires perseverance.
Having a bit of curiosity amounts to nothing unless you take action and persevere.
Conventional wisdoms are often the result of plenty of trial and error before they were first accepted so you need to recognise that there’s a high chance of failure when trying new things at the start.
Never losing your curiosity means that you’ll never give up on finding out more. There’s a never ending amount of new things to learn about the smallest topics. The more you learn, the more you will realise how little you actually know.
Stay curious and you will lead a passionate life.
