In today’s time where there is so much talk about focus on building skills by upskilling and reskilling as there are so many changes happening in space of technology, climate change, geopolitical changes, business and political environment. It is expected that everyone whether students or working in corporate world or entrepreneurs all need to updated themselves by skilling. In today’s changing world there is focus on lifelong learning as it is an important skill to ensure with changing global environment and adapt and survive.
To develop lifelong learning and create a continues building skills by up gradating or reskilling it, the most important skill to develop is curiosity. It is the most important skill in today’s world apart from the many skills whether technical or behaviour skills. It is the top level skill which every individual should start working on to develop and grow self as human being and developing owns career.
Every individual has an area of interest and strength where the person focuses and develop skills. While it is important that every human being should build on their area of strengths by upskilling, it is also important to learn new perspectives in the area of interest or new areas. Developing new perspective comes by being open minded and is curious about it.
How do we define Curiosity – it is a strong desire to learn, explore, and understand new things. It drives individuals to seek out new experiences, ask questions, and engage in continuous learning. Curiosity is essential for personal growth, creativity, and problem-solving for everyone.
The important aspects now comes is how to Develop Curiosity, there are few ways , which I thing will help an individual in developing the same.
Ask Questions: if you do not ask for any information, you remain at the same place and do move forward in knowing the reason for it. Hence it is important to:
Be Inquisitive: It means don’t be afraid to ask questions about the world around you. Use the famous tool of 5W&H ( Who, what, where, when, why, and how ) to know about anything. May 5W&H your best friends, which will help you in getting to know about anything and update your knowledge.
Challenge Assumptions: It means Question commonly held beliefs and explore different perspectives. Most of the time we do not ask common practices and beliefs and go as told or seen. It is important to question them and explore to know why such values, beliefs and practices and way of working exist and why and how it was created. Challenging assumptions help in getting to know different perspectives.
Read Widely:
– It is important to Diversify Your Reading: Read books, articles, and journals on a variety of topics which help in getting to know about different aspects, not just those you are already familiar with.
– Stay Informed: An important aspect of building curiosity is to Keep up with current events happening around the world, figure out scientific discoveries happening, and cultural trends across generations and in different parts of the world..
Explore New Interests:
– Try New Activities: Engage in hobbies and activities outside of your usual routine, which will help your thought process to identify to become better and help in creating new look out.
– Attend Workshops and Classes: Apart from upgrading skills by taking up courses online or attending workshops, it is important to take up courses in subjects that intrigue you, whether they’re related to your field or entirely different.
Cultivate an Open Mindset:
– Be Receptive to New Ideas: Be willing to consider and explore ideas that differ from your own, this is an important aspect as it helps in developing to look at different perspective and views and help in taking better decisions and looking at different ideas. It is a skill which comes with practices and helps in growing an individual as personally and professionally.
– Embrace Uncertainty: Not everyone can accept uncertainty, as every individual grows in a different environment and not everyone faces uncertainty often and can handle the same. It is an important aspect that not all questions have immediate answers and finding it is at times is not easy. As individual try to embrace uncertainty it also help in the process of exploration leading to developing curosity.
Practice Active Listening:
– Engage Fully: One way to develop curiosity is when talking to others, listen actively and attentively. When listening actively and attentively it means focus on what the person is stating and listen to the thoughts of the individual and do not start making developing your response in mind before the person has finished speaking. Show genuine interest in their thoughts and experiences.
– Ask Follow-Up Questions: Another way is to while having discussions and listening to others, in case of any query coming up delve deeper into conversations by asking questions that expand on what the other person has said.
Travel and Experience Different Cultures:
– Explore New Places: Traveling is one of the good ways to exposes you to different ways of life and broadening your perspective. Traveling helps in broadening the thinking when looking at the different cultures , way of life of different cities, countries. It is said traveling helps in changing your learning and perspective and helps in finding out different sensitive aspect of society.
– Interact with Diverse People: As traveling brings change in perspective, Meeting and engaging with people from different backgrounds and cultures help in broadening the way different perspective and outlook of people are and helps in developing the perspective of individual, leading to generating curiosity in daily way of life.
Reflect and Observe:
– Take Time to Reflect: An important way to review is to spend time thinking about your experiences( either a vacation or an incident or an activity or daily schedule or a new learning for the day etc), what you’ve learned, and what questions they raise.
– Observe Closely: Pay attention to the details of your surroundings and everyday occurrences, what is changing or what new things are happening around your neighbourhood or surroundings.
Join Discussion Groups or Clubs:
– Participate in Debates and Discussions: Engage in intellectual discussions with others who share your interests or challenge your viewpoints.
– Join Clubs: Be part of book clubs, science clubs, or other groups that foster learning and curiosity.
Use Technology Wisely:
– Leverage Online Resources: Use the internet to research topics of interest, watch educational videos, and take online courses. Follow experts and thought leaders in various fields on social media or through their blogs and podcasts.
Maintain a Curiosity Journal:
– Document Your Questions: Another way of developing curiosity is by writing down questions that come to mind throughout the day. Note down interesting facts, new ideas, and reflections on what you learn.
By nurturing these habits and attitudes, you can develop and sustain a strong sense of curiosity, which will continually fuel your desire to learn and grow.
