Shake Up Your Thinking!
Photo by Hasse Lossius on Unsplash
Humans have been given a unique position in our world.
We’re each individual aspects of humanity as a whole. Each of us has a perspective and an understanding fully unique to ourselves.
Does it mean one perspective is right and one wrong? One superior and one inferior?
Or does it just mean - different?
Many people shy away from what seems “different”. It can feel scary because it’s an unknown and at best some people are very uncomfortable with the unknown.
Consider this though, since it’s your senses that plug you into this world, you’re viewing, hearing, tasting and feeling from the backdrop of your own unique position. The position in which your past experiences, beliefs, thoughts and insecurities have placed you.
You may have had the experience of seeing something side by side with a friend and yet both of you saw it very differently.
People investigating crimes take this into account all the time. Different witnesses see different things.
If the investigators maintained a fixed idea of the way they believed the crime played out, they would discount the perspectives that didn’t fit that mold.
However, by taking all perspectives into account, maybe it just adds more pieces to the puzzle so more questions are answered and the crime is solved.
I know I’ve had conversations with people in which their view “had to” be the right one. Maybe you’ve experienced someone defending their point of view too.
It’s as though their very life depends on proving themselves right. Their face reddens and tightens, they talk louder. Some huff and puff while you talk. It can be interesting to sit back and see this once rational person transform.
In essence, their life does depend on it because if they allow themselves to see another point of view, it could mean the life of the belief they’ve held onto for so long and kept them feeling safe is about to die.
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality.” - Albert Einstein
Breaking Free
So how do you break free and expand your curiosity so you can begin to open up to many possibilities that are all around you? And why even bother?
Feeling curious keeps your mind active instead of passive. Curious people always ask questions and search for answers.
Opening yourself to feeling curious leads to creativity, inspiration, motivation and innovation with the added bonus of being more aware of who you are, what’s important to you, your relationship to the world around you, spirituality and serendipity.
This is a skill you were born with and used regularly as a child. Yet, as you grew up you were taught to "listen and memorize", "sit up and stay quiet". So your curiosity muscle faded to the background.
Curiosity is considered a human value in which you have the desire to fill a gap in your knowledge or the drive to learn something new. It’s an inquisitive way of thinking that includes exploration, investigation and learning.
When you're truly curious, you accept that other people may have some information that you don't. You’ll also accept that others could see things you may miss. As a result, you can consider your point of view open to change.
“Be curious. Read widely. Try new things. What people call intelligence just boils down to curiosity.” - Aaron Swartz
Curiosity rises when people allow themselves to break free from the box of the same old comfortable routine.
To bring in more curiosity to your life:
Start playing fun games, just for fun
Be playful and don’t take yourself too seriously
Ask more questions about whatever you surround yourself with - Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
4. Change up your usual routines and habits - get up on the other side of the bed, get
dressed in the opposite way you usually do, brush your teeth then wash your face, or vise
versa depending
5. Try something new to step out of your comfort zone - take up a creative hobby or new
skill
6. Let go of the need to be right and choose only to listen
7. Be present with each moment
8. Take 10 minutes everyday to reflect
Research findings on the benefits of curiosity found that curiosity is one of the 5 strengths most reliably linked to a satisfaction with life. Curiosity is also associated with happiness, health, longevity, and positive social relationships.
Curiosity activates several areas of the brain, particularly the regions known as the substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area and the hippocampus. The connectivity between these same regions are associated with learning.
“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” - E.E. Cummings
Even just putting questions out to the Universe can help your conscious mind to be more aware and alert to see the answers to those questions.
Questions like;
What else is possible in this situation?
Is there another way I can see this?
What if I stepped in their shoes and saw this from their perspective?
How can I make my voice heard better?
What are all the different choices I have?
Unlike any other species of life on Earth, we have the opportunity as humans to choose how we wish to be in the world.
Being curious about other peoples’ points of view and just listening to understand can help create a human family that is kinder, gentler and more connected than ever before.
This could be the perfect time to make your choices consciously and be the person you’d be the most proud to be.
I'm planning to pilot a new course in the new year. Let me know if you want to be on the waiting list. In this course you'll learn how to creatively and mindfully connect clearly to the genius of your past, to affect your present and future. Let me know if you'd like to hear more about it. Just send me an email with "Yes! Tell me more!" at info@lucycrisetig.com