When we were kids we were curious about everything. Everything was new, flowers, the seasons, new sports, we lived in a constant state of wonder.
Studies
Researchers have long debated and discussed what creates curiosity. One group said it was a drive similar to hunger. Over a period of time, you just get curious. In fact, one study in the 1960s put college students in a dark room with no sound for 12 hours, four days in a row. Then they had to push a button. It would make a light appear on the ceiling. The only point of this study was to see if people got more curious over time. Other researchers said that curiosity came from wanting to master something if our neighbor boy is interested in baseball and he hears about a new pitch he’ll be curious and want to master that new pitch
Lastly, researchers argued that it was when incongruence came up against our beliefs. For example, if we believed one thing, then something challenged that, we then get curious about that thing and seek to resolve it.
The truth
Despite researchers arguing who is the most right, the truth is curiosity is all of these it’s like hunger. When we’re bored, we crave new information. It has to do with mastery, and when things aren’t congruent, we seek to resolve that.
In business, it’s easy to get in a flow and never challenge our beliefs when we don’t have experiences or clients that form more incongruence. We’re not pushed to find creative solutions, in other words, if we don’t have curiosity our business will stagnate. So seek new experiences, master something new and allow yourself to get bored so you create something amazing. Who knows what your next big idea will be.
Joseph R. Sanok, MA, LLP, LPC, NCC
Joe Sanok is an ambitious results expert. He is a private practice business consultant and counselor that helps small businesses and counselors in private practice to increase revenue and have more fun! He helps owners with website design, vision, growth, and using their time to create income through being a private practice consultant. Joe was frustrated with his lack of business and marketing skills when he left graduate school. He loved helping people through counseling but felt that often people couldn’t find him. Over the past few years, he has grown his skills, income, and ability to lead others, while still maintaining an active private practice in Traverse City, MI. To link to Joe’s Google+
