Cultivating Curiosity

Being a curious person just requires dropping the excuses you give yourself everyday.

So far, we've talked at length about the importance of curiosity and how it factors into being an intrinsic motivator. So let's continue to drill down and ask the question, how can we cultivate our curiosity?

This Psychology Today article sums it up quite nicely, and I'll attempt to summarize it here:

1. Reframe boring situations as opportunities to be inquisitive. Ask questions about things that you normally would not.
2. Don't be afraid to take that dance class, or click that link for a beginner's programming tutorial, at least just give it a shot.
3. Focus on your old passions no matter how many setbacks you've had. Did you try to learn an instrument but gave up? Go back to it!

Short and simple; and admittedly often easier said than done. But then again, better said than not at all. So what are you waiting for?

Motivate Yourself Intrinsically

Find your inner carrot.

So it's great that we know we work best with intrinsic motivation, but you may ask how do we develop this? You can increase your intrinsic motivations by:

1. Attributing results to factors under your own control (autonomy),
2. Believing that you have the skills to be effective agents in reaching your own desired goals (self-efficacy belief)
3. Becoming interested in mastering a topic, not just in achieving good grades (curiosity)

That last point is important, because it relates most closely to the original question. How does one become interested in something when they simply are not?

The key is curiosity. Developing a vivacious curiosity is one of the best things you can do for yourself. You will be happier because you'll rarely get bored of things, and even when you do get bored, you will be able to exert conscious effort into discovering how to make your environment and task interesting again.

The Importance of Curiosity

Are you a curious person?

Curiosity is important. When we speak of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, curiosity is an extremely strong intrinsic motivator and is absolutely crucial to our goal of being productive, creative, and effective people. According to Psychology Today, in reference to a study by Todd Kashdan of George Mason University:

"People who exhibit high levels of curiosity, he found, experience higher levels of satisfaction with life than their more disengaged peers. While the less curious derive more pleasure from hedonistic behaviors such as sex and drinking, curious people report finding a greater sense of meaning in life, which is a better predictor of sustainable, lasting happiness."

Curiosity has also been shown to positively correlate with personal growth, openness to experience, autonomy, purpose in life, self-acceptance, psychological flexibility, positive affect, and positive social relations. 

As an added bonus, curious people tend to be less predisposed to interpersonal aggression. This might be helpful not only for choosing the people you want to be around, but also in thinking about your own attributes as well.