I haven’t always been a curious person, but in the last decade or so I’ve had a desire to answer the questions that pop into my mind that come with a bit of wonder.
What would it be like to take a different route to work?
Who could I be if I explored my hobbies to the fullest?
Where could I end up if I went to all the places that excite me?
Often, following my curiosity has led me to a delayed drive, activities I didn’t care for, or a place I don’t intend to travel to again. Basically, it doesn’t always work out the way I hoped. But sometimes curiosity has led me somewhere amazing and even if it only happens sometimes, that’s good enough for me. That’s the thing about curiosity. You don’t always know where it’s going to take you and the more I allow myself to follow it, the easier following it becomes.
Curiosity is a muscle. And just like any other muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Here are a few ways I strengthen my curiosity and hopefully you can too.
Start With the Little Things
You don’t have to completely change your life to become more curious. Sometimes it starts with something incredibly small. Try the restaurant and order a dish you’ve never had. Visit a neighborhood you’ve never explored. Read about a place you’ve never considered visiting. Trying the little things matter because they teach you to question the familiar and to imagine yourself doing something different. And once you start questioning the familiar and placing yourself in a new situation, you begin noticing how much there is to discover and what you can experience along the way.
Let Yourself Be a Beginner
One of the easiest ways to stop being curious is to convince yourself you’re not good at something.
I’ve done it a lot and there’s a chance that maybe you’ve done it too. You think: I can’t start a blog, I don’t know anything about photography, I can’t learn a language. Thoughts like that can lead you to believe that you’re not equipped enough, but curiosity doesn’t require expertise, tools, or a high education. It only requires a willingness to ask, “What if?” You don’t know how to start the blog? You can watch best practice videos. You’re not familiar with taking photos? You can join a photography walk with creators in your area. You don’t have to speak another language fluently to start learning one.
Being a beginner isn’t a reason not to try. It’s one of the best reasons to be curious.
Follow the Questions You Have
I’ve found that some of my favorite experiences have started with a question. I wonder what’s there? I wonder what this tastes like? I wonder what would happen if I went by myself? That last question has taken me particularly far. It took me to restaurants, museums, road trips, and new neighborhoods by myself. Places I probably never would have experienced if I didn’t go.
Curiosity doesn’t always give you an answer. Sometimes it gives you a direction.
Curiosity Makes the World Feel Bigger
One of my favorite things about getting curious is that it makes the world feel bigger without requiring you to go out of your way. You can live in the same city for years and still have places you’ve never seen. You can take the same drive and suddenly notice a view or a little roadside stop you’ve somehow never paid attention to. The world doesn’t necessarily have to change, you just have to look at it differently. And I think that’s one of the reasons I love photography so much. Carrying a camera makes me pay attention to what’s in front of me. I’m looking for the light, the details, the colors, the little things that might otherwise blend into the background. Curiosity does the same thing. It makes you look closer.
Curiosity Can Be Uncomfortable
Of course, being curious isn’t always easy. Sometimes it asks you to do things that push you outside of your comfort zone. That’s where curiosity and courage meet. You don’t have to stop being nervous before you follow your curiosity. You can be both at the same time. I’ve learned that I don’t need to wait until I’m completely comfortable to do something anymore. Sometimes I just need to be willing to see what happens.
Keep Exercising It
The beautiful thing about curiosity is that you don’t have to save it for big life moments. Use it on an ordinary day of the week. Try something new, talk to someone, go somewhere you’ve never been, and learn something simply because you want to know more about it. And if you find that you hate it, that’s okay too, you tried. Curiosity isn’t about making every experience wonderful. It’s about giving yourself permission to experience it. Because the more you follow your curiosity, the more natural flexing the muscle becomes, and the more comfortable you become following it.
Maybe that’s the real magic of curiosity. It doesn’t just lead you to new places. It changes the way you see the place you’re already in. It makes your world feel a little bigger, your days a little more interesting, and your life a little more open to possibility. So go ahead. Try the restaurant, visit the museum, book the solo trip and explore the hobby you’re interested in. You never know where your curiosity might lead you. And that’s exactly the point.
Location in images: Halona Beach Cove in Honolulu, Hawaii.
