Step 1: Set Boundaries We need to set boundaries to focus our curiosity on what matters the most. Otherwise, we can end up distracted, overwhelmed from the risk and uncertainty of the journey, or even burned out. Graphcore

Ask yourself, “What part of your curiosity project has the potential to affect other people positively?” Once you have that answer square in your head, you can pin it above your desk or in your studio to remind yourself that you are trying to change the world and that your work has real purpose. Changing the world does not necessarily mean curing c

Daniel Willingham, “Why Aren’t We Curious About the Things We Want to Be Curious About?,” New York Times, October 18, 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/opinion/sunday/curiosity-brain.html.

A hindering fear almost always follows a what-if approach to anything new. To fully engage your curiosity, learn to distinguish between valid fears and unsubstantiated ones. For those who engage in life-threatening pursuits, much as Canadian adventurer and storm chaser George Kourounis does, curiosity itself can be the best way to overcome fear. “T

Three components of a potential interest transform it into an insatiable itch that drives our passion and fuels our perseverance. For simplicity’s sake, I like to put them together in the following equation: Let’s look at this equation in more detail. What are boundaries, purpose, and belief? How can they be added together? And why do they add up t

Be Curious About Problems and Solutions on Paper Curiosity about what may lie ahead is a critical part of the preparation for curiosity journeys. Kick off your analog preparation by imagining what the journey is likely to look like and figuring out possible solutions to challenges you foresee. Do it on paper: conduct a premortem (i.e., imagine a fe

There are huge upsides to pursuing curiosity journeys. Learning what interests us can lead to new opportunities, businesses, and experiences. These journeys are life enriching. We also learn more about ourselves, gain confidence, and become stronger and more resilient.

What doesn’t kill you makes you more curious: The more we put ourselves in situations or environments that are new to us and that challenge us, the more we develop skills and coping mechanisms to face those challenges. “Choose curiosity, don’t surrender,” our inner voice tells us. If we adopt this approach, something interesting will start happenin

To satisfy my own curiosity and push beyond what I know, I have started paying attention to the things that matter to my work. The pendulum has swung back from mindlessly scrolling the internet in my downtime to finding something interesting to focus on and embracing the road less traveled. My own experience makes it very clear: now is the time to