Students need to think of their education not just in terms of gaining a specific skill set or acquiring content knowledge related to a major or field of study; but rather, also as an opportunity to learn transferrable skills and knowledge since the job market is constantly changing. To be marketable in this ever-uncertain economic environment, students must recognize they are life-long learners. As Alvin Toffler stated, “The illiterate of the 21st Century will be those who cannot learn, unlearn, and re-learn.” The only way to maintain this cycle of learning is to cultivate intellectual curiosity within one’s self. As an adult, it is not someone else’s responsibility to keep you learning…you must develop that catalyst on our own and that catalyst is intellectual curiosity.
What is intellectual curiosity? It is a term used to describe a person’s desire to devote time and energy into learning more about a topic. Strong intellectual curiosity serves you well because it stimulates your brain, exercises your research skills, allows you to become smarter and a more interesting person, and helps you find meaning in your life. Intellectually curious individuals tend to be:
- Open-minded, objective, and optimistic;
- Persistent and resilient (less stressed);
- Interested in people, ask genuine questions, listen sincerely, and develop strong relationships;
- Inquisitive, engaged, and adept at questioning;
- Excellent learners who are more likely to exercise critical and even creative thinking skills.
In fact, Todd Kashdan, PhD, in his book, Curious? Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life, argues that the central ingredient to leading a more fulfilling life is not to focus on being happy, but to focus on harnessing curiosity. He explains that you should reacquaint yourself with curiosity. As an adult, you tend to neglect curiosity and in some ways our society robs you of that natural curiosity you had as a child. Thus Kashdan states, you have to “renew the relationship with the curios explorer” within yourself.
So, how can you cultivate your intellectual curiosity?
First, keep an open mind. Be open to learn new information or be willing to relearn familiar topics, be open to explore new place, and be ready to let new ideas take you to new ways of thinking and seeing the world. We often make the mistake “when things become familiar and predictable that we become mindless drones. We tune out.” We close our minds to new possibilities and get stuck looking at familiar ideas in the same way. Practice open-mindedness to cultivate your curiosity.
Second, do not label anything as boring. Boredom is a choice and by labeling something as boring, you are making the choice to close the door on the possibility of learning something new. You live in a great big and vast world of which you have probably only seen and learned of a very tiny percent. Do not close off something just because you do not have an interest now; keep the door open by not labeling it one way or another as boring.
Third, do not take things for granted. Try to look at each day and each task with new eyes. Dig dipper beneath the surface of what is around you and what you think you know. Practice mindfulness so that you become fully aware and live in the present moment. Being mindful forces you to pay attention to the world around you. When you pay attention, you develop new interests and you become curious.
Fourth, constantly and relentlessly ask questions. Remember the journalist’s questions: who, what, why where, when, and how. A journalist’s job is to get behind a story to learn as much as possible so that the reader/viewer/listener has all the facts. So be like an investigative reporter, ask questions, and learn more.
Fifth, see learning as fun. If you choose to see learning as a burden, as painful, as not worth the investment, then you will never be able to develop your thinking skills, expand your knowledge, or cultivate curiosity. It is not someone’s job to entertain you in the learning process, especially now that you are an adult. Look for the fun and excitement in the learning process so that you develop a joy in learning and relearning.
Finally, read, read, read, read! Read diverse kinds of things. Pick a book or magazine on a new subject and let it feed your mind with new and exciting ideas. Choose a book from a different genre and read both fiction and nonfiction. Subscribe to blogs, newsfeeds, and other online material that will cultivate new interests. By reading so many different texts, you will introduce yourself to other worlds that may then spark your interests in other directions.
Like developing any study skill or habit, cultivating curiosity will take practice and discipline. As Kashdan stated, “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.”
Sources:
Kashdan, Todd, Phd. Curious? Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life. Harper: New York, 2009. Print.
Research & Evaluation Team, Office of Information Technology. “Is Intellectual Curiosity a Strong Predictor for Academic Performance?” Office of Information Technology. University of Minnesota. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. Pdf.
Phillips, Richard. “Space for Curiosity.” Progress in Human Geography, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
