The Most Important Trait You Were Born With
You were born with a special trait that helped you grow and learn. Do you know what that trait is?
Do you think it was your intelligence? Empathy?
Maybe your unique talents?
If you are curious as to what it could be, we are happy to inform you, you’ve still got it!
The most important trait you were born with is…
Curiosity.
Born this way
You came into this world full of curiosity. You looked around a lot, explored, tried new things, and rapidly learned about the people and places that were part of your world.
It was your curiosity that enabled you to grow and mature. It was your curiosity that allowed you to see situations from multiple perspectives. It was your curiosity that allowed you to explore, create, and to look at situations and say “I wonder…?”
Are you still curious? Do you still seek out new perspectives? Do you still wonder?
Or have you gotten stuck in a world of judgment? Do you only see what is without the ability to look at what could be?
Where we went wrong
If so, it’s not ALL your fault. The world can be hard on those who are curious. As children, we get graded, doubted, and told there’s only one answer to the test. Curiosity doesn’t get nurtured, and then we move into adulthood. In a big world focused on outcomes and processes, and wanting things quickly, we are rewarded when we color inside the lines and repeat the lessons that are handed down to us. We begin to value efficiency and results to the detriment of exploration.
But what happens to us when we lose our curiosity? We become:
- Stuck in our ways
- Uninteresting (and uninterested)
- Judgmental
- Miserable
In her book, “Mindset,” renowned Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck says that it’s not intelligence, talent or education that sets successful people apart. It’s their mindset, or the way that they approach life’s challenges. If we lose our curiosity, we develop a fixed mindset that tells us that things can’t change; we are who we are and it is what it is. But if we embrace curiosity again, we will also embrace a growth mindset that encourages us to explore, learn, try, and then try again. It is not the intelligence, charisma, or unique talents that we are born with that determine our success. It is the mindset that we embrace.
Re-learning Curiosity
Adopting a mindset to be more curious is a first step, but we also need to foster curiosity as a practice in our lives. The simplest and best way to do this is to ask more questions, and while that seems too obvious and easy, we struggle to do this in our fast-paced world. Over time, asking questions will feel more natural and genuine – the idea is to start the practice. Another way to generate curiosity is to become a student of something that fascinates you. Grab a book or magazine, join an online class, or seek out someone who will hold some space for you to be interested in what they have to offer.
When we hold onto our curiosity and embrace a growth mindset we:
- Make smarter decisions
- Are more self-aware
- Explore creative and innovative ideas
- Improve our relationships
- Have better conversations
It turns out we are all born with the most important trait needed for growth and success. Curiosity. The trick is being able to keep it in our grasp.
Have we piqued your curiosity about how you can develop and continue to nurture a growth mindset? If so be sure to join us as we explore the topic of burnout next month!