Curiosity Killed the Cat?

“If we lead with questions rather than answers, curiosity can strip us of an agenda and stop us from holding so tightly to our own ideas and beliefs…” - Marcum & Smith in “Egonomics”

Like Bristol, I was “born with a huge bump of curiosity.” I have always tinkered. As a child, I tinkered with electronics (much to the chagrin of my parents), electricity (all it took was one shock and I never played with it the same way), irrigation systems (oh, mommy just loves to tell this story), and so many other things. Today, I still tinker; the only difference is that I now tinker with ideas...

From the moment a book was first placed in my hands, I became an avid “thought-tinkerer.” I could not believe that there was only one “best way” or that “conventional wisdom” was correct. I remember arguing with my 3rd or 4th grade teacher that blood was not red – that is, not until it was out of the body. Of course, this is not true; but seeing the color of veins, I was certain blood itself was not red. I may have been wrong, but the curious fires in my soul were simply stoked by each discovery and revelation.

I was often told that “curiosity killed the cat” – I suppose that is what adults do to stop the questions from eager and questioning children: we say anything to stop them from asking another question, especially “why?” Fast-forward some 20 years and I find myself no different; I still want to know “why” and the fires of my curiosity refuse to become embers and ashes...

We cannot allow our curiosity to die; it is essential to our personal and professional growth. Without it, there can be no creativity...no progress. “Highly curious people are different than you might imagine,” says Marcum & Smith, “they have a unique ability to bring both openness and order to conversations, not excluding either in the way they think.”

 What a life we can create when we allow our curiosity to become the key that unlocks a whole new world of ideas and possibilities! You see, “curiosity gives us permission and courage to test what we think, feel, and believe to be true, reminding us we don’t know everything about anything” (Marcum & Smith).

Less than half of 1% of the U.S population has a Ph.D. I feel very privileged to be one of them; yet, all that I have discovered is that I know so little. That knowledge is what keeps me searching for and seeking ways to improve the human condition...

Are YOU curious?

©2018, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.