Do you ever just sit and wonder why? Not about anything in particular, but about everything in particular: how the sea works, why the sun shines, what happens in our brains when we dream, etc. You might know the answer to these questions, but that force at work that forms these questions, what keeps our minds hunting for answers, is curiosity. When considering things we thought we knew through a new perspective, or let ourselves consider new things with a childlike sense of curiosity, we might be surprised at what we learn and at how refreshing things can be through certain perspectives.

If you think about it, the most important discoveries made from the invention of fire to interplanetary travel are the result of curiosity, of people asking questions and wondering why. Psychologists studying the importance of curiosity have found that it is proven to have many positive effects. It enhances intelligence; one study showed that highly curious students aged 3 to 11 improved their intelligence by 12 points more than their least-curious counterparts.[1] Curiosity also increases perseverance, because of its nature to inherently ask why without stopping. It’s also been shown that just describing a day when you were curious improves mental and physical energy by 20% more than remembering a time of happiness.[2] Happiness is ephemeral; curiosity is ever-reaching.  

Curiosity in Business

The Harvard Business Review also pointed out three important findings concerning the impact of curiosity in business. The results were positive and in favor of curiosity. Firstly, cultivating curiosity at all levels across a business is much more important to its success than previously thought, because curiosity helps to adapt to uncertain market changes and external pressures: when curiosity is triggered, people think more deeply and rationally about the decisions they’re making. Second, leaders themselves can make small changes in business culture to cultivate curiosity among their workers, in every industry and for creative and routine work alike. Thirdly, HBR points out that although leaders might say they want active mings, they stifle curiosity in fear that it will increase risk. They conducted a survey across industries and workers and found that from 3,000 employees, 24% reported feeling curious during their jobs on a regular basis, but about 70% face barriers to asking more questions at work. [3]

In business, the positives of curiosity are clear. It helps workers make less decision-making errors, it induces more innovation and positive changes in both creative and non-creative jobs, it reduces group conflict, and makes for more open and better communication and team performance. The importance of curiosity and its impact in the workplace should not go unnoticed by those in charge. 

Cultivating Curiosity

If you want to cultivate curiosity for yourself as a personal goal to be a better worker and thinker, there are ways to do so. First of all, go back and apply a beginner’s mind: look for and be open to new and novel ways of thinking and doing things. Another way is to ask questions, listen, and observe—look first to understand, not to explain. You should also try something new, whether that’s taking a different route to work than usual or reading a book in a genre that you usually don’t. Just try to find ways to incorporate novelty into your life, and ask why. Finally, be inquisitive. Ask others about their opinions, beliefs, and perspectives because everyone behaves and thinks differently, and by seeing through other’s perspectives, you can cultivate curiosity by asking why they differ from your own. 

In the end, know that curiosity is an innate human trait. It can be cultivated, but it’s already there. By simply asking why and how about the smallest things to existential questions that might come up, you exercise the muscle that is your brain and you develop a stronger sense of curiosity. It’s not difficult, it just takes a lot of questioning. Think of Socrates and his basis of philosophy that has influenced Western culture to such a large extent: he simply kept asking why.

[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s44159-024-00346-5#:~:text=Children%20who%20are%20curious%20are,incidental%20learning58%2C140

[2] https://hbr.org/2018/09/the-five-dimensions-of-curiosity

[3] https://hbr.org/2018/09/the-business-case-for-curiosity

Photo by Justin Heap free to use under the Unsplash License.