Perhaps it’s the control freak in me but have you ever wished you could make someone else be more curious?
Years ago when I lived in Toronto, I went out with a guy who, after a few dates, suggested I shouldn’t talk about my work so much. It was an exciting time in my career; he never asked about it. Yet he loved talking about his work and I was always asking questions. He was both a professional magician and videographer for the Toronto Blue Jays. Over time, my curiosity waned, we seemed to have nothing to talk about, so I drifted away. (And I never did find out how he managed to escape from a big sealed container full of water.)
On a much (much) bigger scale, curiosity makes the world grow up. It’s what’s enabled us to find ways to control fire, to paint timeless art, to map DNA. Curiosity leads to innovation. Throughout history, there have been waves of curiosity, the Renaissance for example.
Curiosity drives us to learn, think, experiment and reflect.
Who wouldn’t want to be curious? Doesn’t everybody see that this is an amazing thing? Well, apparently, not everyone is curious. I read a book about it last year and was dismayed to learn that you can’t make someone else be more curious. It mostly comes from within. (This succinctly explains all the frustration I experienced when raising a teenager.)
Interestingly, each person’s curiosity ‘level’ is not constant, nor set in stone at a young age. It changes throughout our lives but there is no common pattern. If you’re curious about how to become more curious, this Psychology Today article lists 7 ways.
Curiosity is what draws me to marketing. Yes, I’m still trying to make people curious and marketing is full of opportunities to experiment with curiosity 😉