Keeping jadedness and cynicism at bay is a good place to start, but if you are looking to keep your curiosity alive, the best examples around are often children. Believe it or not, according to studies done in the UK, young children were thought to ask between 300 and 400 questions a day, with four year old girls found to be the most inquisitive. Imagine how much we would learn as adults if we asked that many questions in a day!
Try to maintain that childlike sense of wonder at everything around you
It’s easy to get bogged down by daily routines, work and other commitments, but make sure you take a moment in your day to take a deep breath and appreciate your surroundings.
Be more observant about where you are and what you are doing
Pay attention to details. Instead of always rushing from one place to the next or thinking about the next thing on your to-do list, try to properly engage with whatever you are doing at the time.
Ask questions
If you’re unsure about something, ask someone or make a mental note to research it at another time. A big part of keeping curiosity alive is cultivating the right habits such as asking questions.
Give yourself opportunities to learn
Join a book club or social group for a topic or activity that you are interested in. Take short courses or night classes in something that you’ve always wanted to pursue. It doesn’t matter whether you excel in the course – just the act of learning can inspire your curiosity and leave you happier and more fulfilled.
Benefits of being curious
In addition to making us better lifelong learners, there are a number of other benefits to being curious. These include:
- Successful relationships
Curious people tend to show more interest in others and have good listening skills. People find it much easier to warm to someone who seems genuinely interested in them.
Having an interest in many topics also makes for good conversation. Curious people tend to have more original, interesting conversation, ideas and viewpoints, sometimes making it easier to interact with others.
- Ease of learning
Being curious tends to make people more observant of their surroundings. People who have a genuine interest in learning tend to accumulate and retain new information faster, easier and at a wider scale.
- An eye for detail
Curious people tend to look and wonder about things in greater detail, wanting to gather as much information as they can. For this reason they may notice and observe things, not quite at surface level, which others might miss.
- Higher intellectualism
Studies have shown that levels of curiosity are linked with intelligence levels, improved memory and problem-solving skills.
- Success
Curious people are more likely to pursue new, novel experiences. It is often through these pursuits that discoveries are made, and quite often that is a main contributing factor in achieving one’s goals and dreams.
References
http://www.rhymetimeeducation.com/#!blank/gotkq
http://www.forbes.com/sites/85broads/2014/02/06/how-to-hire-curious-people-and-keep-curiosity-alive/#4c5a6133294d