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Curious? II

Another interesting quote from Todd Kashdan’s book:

“Many prodigies in a wide variety of disciplines start off by playing music, writing poetry, or shooting hoops because it feels good, but this pleasure is often obliterated by the pressure to succeed. Basically, when curiosity and interest disappear, the benefits go with them.” (p. 37)

Although few of us are prodigies, most of us can probably relate to the inherent pleasure of an activity at times (or often) being undermined (or overwhelmed) by a focus on results. (I believe it is the focus on results, not this kind of success, that Kashdan is talking about)

Do you think the golfer that is cursing at his clubs starting golfing as a way to increase his anger or because he enjoyed figuring out why it is so hard to hit the ball straight?

Did the doctor that is now rolling her eyes at her patient choose the profession hoping to be jaded by people or because she was interested in helping others and solving mysterious ailments?

Reconnecting with the curiosity that led to our professions and performance domains can help us reclaim what we found to be so interesting about them in the first place. And then you’ll perform better, just as when you first became curious. And then you’ll be more likely to get caught up in results….only this time maybe you’ll remember that curiosity is what allowed the results to happen in the first place. Isn’t that curious?

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Curious?

A great quote on curiosity as an engine for growth from the book Curious? by Todd Kashdan (p. 19-20).

By being curious, we explore.

By exploring, we discover.

When this is satisfying, we are more likely to repeat it.

By repeating it, we develop competence and mastery.

By developing competence and mastery, our knowledge and skills grow.

As our knowledge and skills grow, we stretch and expand who we are and what our life is about.

By dealing with novelty, we become more experienced and intelligent, and infuse our lives with meaning.

When is the last time you approached your performance with true curiosity? If you haven’t been genuinely surprised, fascinated, or engaged with your performance lately, see if you can bring an attitude of curiosity back into it. What do you find most interesting or enjoyable about your performance? How has this changed over the years? When is the last time you learned something new about your performance? When is the last time you gave yourself credit for learning something new about your performance?

Curiosity and mindfulness go hand in hand, and both are the opposite of bored, stagnant, and disinterested. If you are curious, you will be more mindful. If you are mindful, you will be more curious.

And in either state it is impossible to be bored because you will notice the nuance, the difference, the uniqueness of each moment.