What does being curious teach us? And how can it improve our lives? That’s what I speak about in today’s podcast. Listen here to know more, but if you can’t have a listen, then you can read what I’ve said too:
Why is Curiosity Important for Success?
“Hi, I’m Shruti and this is my podcast space where I speak about life lessons, chronic conditions, mental and physical health tips and experiences.
Thanks to my mum, I grew up watching a lot of crime and investigative shows – she got me hooked on to the American show Columbo.
My brothers had me watching Knight Rider – which is actually more action, but umm anyways… later over the years it’s been Byomkesh Bakshi, Dr House, Law & Order and sooo many more – I was actually going through a listicle on some websites of American crime shows and realised how many I’ve watched over the years!
Okay so… I’m getting off topic… just a bit… what I’m trying to get at is that at a very young age I was influenced by such shows and I found myself looking deeper into things, questioning them or wanting to know more – it didn’t happen with everything but with things that were important to me at that time.
Over the years, my brothers and I always spoke about curiosity but I never valued its importance until I was made to realise the success I’ve gained from being curious.
O’ and before I carry on, in case you’re looking for a text version of all my podcasts, then they’re available on my website: allthingsendometriosis.com – I will link it in the description section of this podcast.
Now before we really get deeper into this podcast…let’s do two things…
The first, let’s define what the word curious is, so the dictionary definition is:”eager to know or learn something”.
Secondly, please ask yourself – are YOU curious? – actually..probably a silly question… I think as humans we’re all inclined to have varying levels of curiosity in us, so I guess the question should be – are you curious enough?
If you’re now wondering what I mean by being “curious enough” then please hear me out to know if you are; why you should be curious and how you can be to gain different forms of success.
I want to divide this podcast into two parts…
What does being curious mean… How being curious can make us successful and an example of a personal but life changing success.
Again, let’s understand what being curious means.
As defined earlier, being curious is the eagerness to learn or know something – there are so many layers and benefits to this.
When we’re curious… we gain knowledge – which then, I believe, teaches us at least four things…
The first… It helps us see different perspectives – we see where others are coming from making us more receptive to all the new things we’re learning – we tend to adapt better and be more respectful.
Number 2… We’re suddenly making discoveries – not necessarily unknown discoveries but discoveries that we haven’t looked at before and may help us.
Number 3… We’re forced to or shall I say, encouraged to think deeply.
Number 4… Being curious makes us creative because many times we’re having to problem solve. So if we don’t question, we don’t go searching for answers then we don’t educate ourselves then we can’t be creative with our solutions.
All these gains from being curious can lead us towards professional and personal success.. and overall, improve our quality of life. We will find ourselves solving problems with reduced stress, thinking of innovative ideas and angles that wouldn’t just come to us if we hadn’t been curious.
Let me give you an example and share a personal success quite quickly…
Now as you may know by now, my life is pretty much dictated by my health but I felt that it controlled me far more than it should.I had to think of things that could help me gain a bit more control – which in all honesty is very tough when you have multiple conditions to deal with.
But… there’s always something we can do – and we’ll only know that if we get curious.
So, true to my nature, I got curious and started investigating the food I had and its impact on me and it’s control over my symptoms.
I educated myself, spoke to my nutritionist, read about other people’s experiences with various food groups who had the same medical conditions as me and I slowly started reworking my diet.
This being curious has led to me eating an anti-inflammatory diet with the nutritional value that I initially lacked to help combat my chronic illnesses – and no, doctors don’t explain all this.
My diet wasn’t something that changed overnight – it took a year of good habits and constantly wanting to learn that has helped me give myself a better chance in improving my quality of life – and it all started from being curious.
Now this was just an example about my diet, but the same principles are applied towards my work – my approach to this podcast, my blog, understanding my medical conditions, getting the right meds, the physiotherapy I need – in fact everything.
I don’t go around asking random questions – but I am curious enough to scratch below the surface – to enquire, to investigate, to be that detective that looks beyond the obvious.
I want to do what I can to help me – so whether that’s improving my diet or trying a varying approach to my work – I get inquisitive, learn and problem solve.
It may not always work out, but this desire to be curious can be the difference between me and the next person – you and the next person – it can elevate our thought process and our mental and physical and spiritual evolution – so now, if you feel you’re not curious enough – give it a go!
Inquire, investigate – be curious.
Now before I let you go…if you enjoyed this podcast, please do share it with others!
That’s it… you can get in touch with me with your thoughts on this topic or send me any questions or topic suggestions you may have by messaging me on my Instagram which is @footprintsnoboundaries or by emailing me on [email protected].
Thank you for listening and supporting… take care everyone – byeeee!!”
Read Here For:
- My Night-Time Routine While Having a Chronic Illness
- Podcast Ep 2: Habits – Do You Compare Yourself to Others?
- How To Make the Most of Social Media for Chronic Illness Patients
- Podcast Ep 10: What it Takes to Keep Going
I’d love to know what you thought of today’s podcast. Please do share your thoughts in the comments section below…
Previous: Podcast Episode 14 – Finding Joy in Your Own Company
Up Next: Podcast Episode 16 – How I Meditate Even with Chronic Pain
(text version will be posted next Sunday, but if you would like to hear it on Spotify, then you can here)
If you’re a social media person, then you can follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest.
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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. I am a patient and have created this platform to share my experiences. This is all purely informative and in no way am I providing medical advice. Please consult a medical professional.
I think being curious is such a positive thing, in so many areas of life. In terms of chronic illness being curious has led me to try new treatments and pursue new options, some of which have been so helpful.
Being curious is so vital! This is how I’ve gotten to understand the US social welfare system, and became more aware of medical needs and supports. I don’t blindly accept what my doctor tells me, but instead, investigate their statements to make sure I fully understand my health and condition. Thank you so much for talking about it – it is deeply important!
Curiousity is such a powerful emotion – great post and I look forward to diving into your blog more!
Great podcast as always, Shruti! I wholeheartedly agree that curiosity is so important to actually live, and improve one’s own life 🙂
Terrific content. The title alone made me curious, so success! I’m so happy to hear that your natural sense of curiousity has made an impact on your health, especially your diet. I still read books on gut health and the microbiome and find it so interesting since the science is also evolving. I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong is excellent.
I’m a natural autodidact, which my Chinese teacher reiterated repeatedly when I was in China. Always asking questions, Carrie. Is there anything you don’t want to know about? 🙂 My answer was and still is no.
I also really appreciated the tip you put in here about learning from different perspectives because it is this point specifically that really helps us ‘master’ a topic. It is vitally important to read opposing opinions as well as learn from failures and not just success stories. This, for me, is probably my most favorite part of learning. Education is key!
From your lifelong learning friend,
Carrie in Taiwan
Being curious keeps the spark in life going, doesn’t it? I love to learn also. Through that, I have been able to better deal with Fibromyalgia. I’m rarely bored because I love to learn about everything. When I am watching a movie based on history, I often research what is fact/what is fiction, etc. Too bad my fibro brain doesn’t retain all this knowledge!
You’re curiosity in sharing your message through blogging, podcasts, and video shows! You do such a wonderful job. It’s amazing to me that all of this is new to you!