Does Curiosity Really Kill the Cat?

Why is curiosity so important?

Many times when we feel we've reached a dead-end, a mindset of curiosity can help us blend new information and connect seemingly very different ideas. The power of curiosity comes from its ability to help us learn and grow. It stops us from becoming obsolete, fills in our blind spots and improves our self-awareness.

The more curious you are about a topic, the more likely you are to remember it. Curiosity can actually help our relationships. Research shows being genuinely interested in other people helps build more robust connections to others. This means a greater feeling of intimacy and creating the foundation for meaningful relationships. This doesn't mean exclusively relationships with a partner only. It could be with a co-worker, friends or members of your family.

In searching for topics to write about, I will often just go off on searches, Googling things about life after 50 to see what pops up. There are certainly some common topics such as health and finance, career and retirement etc. However, the further I looked, something that popped up in my search results recently, often included the word curiosity.

Curiosity by definition includes : "an eager wish to know or learn something", "inquisitive interest in others' concerns". Finally, "one that arouses interest, especially for uncommon or exotic characteristics".

Most of us have heard the term, "curiosity killed the cat". What I never knew, was the second half of that phrase, "but satisfaction brought it back". So for most of my life, my belief from that phrase, was that curiosity will get you in trouble. However, the second half of the phrase indicates that finding answers or the truth from that curiosity brings it back to life. Why the negative half of that phrase was the part that became dominant in social colloquialisms is something worth exploring, especially now in our later years with more experience of life under our belts.

I found this chart about the usage of the word curiosity......well.......curious. First of all, I didn't realize something like this even existed. What's interesting is the trend of the word usage. Follow the graph from its peak usage, around 1800 or so, to what looks like a significant diminishment in the 1900's, to a slight uptick to the present. It makes one wonder what might be the changes in the social views and behaviors that lead to the changes. Perhaps I'll delve into that in another post.

Through curiosity we grow as people, not in just knowledge, but in our realizing and approaching life with a vision of more possibilities and opportunities in our future. It's about not only exploring the world around us, but gaining a better understanding of who we are as people. The quest for discovery and learning helps us to continue to develop our ability at critical thinking, as well as adapting more comfortably to the changing world around us.

There is science to back up the fact that people who tend to be curious, can see boosts in their creativity as well as memory. However, there are also some indications that for some, curiosity may lead to procrastination and distraction.

Curiosity is not as pure as just seeking knowledge. For example, if you were given a topic to research for a term paper in school or for putting together a report at work, that version of seeking knowledge is not based in curiosity. That's referred to as external motivation.

Now let's say from your research for the term paper, you read about something not related to the topic of your composition. You then went on to research and seek out more about this off topic subject. This is based on your internal motivation. That is curiosity.

What I really want to say, is as we age, don't recoil from curiosity. Use your life experiences and knowledge to this point to grow even further. Now's the time in your life to use that curiosity to get over to the other side and explore YOU. You might be surprised what you find......on many levels. Fear and procrastination are the great limiters of life. If you choose to let them win, you are really only cheating yourself.

I would love to hear about some of the things you are curious about, and perhaps the things that are holding you back. Feel free to share your stories of following through and your curiosities and the results as well.

If you've come this far, thanks again for following. Sunshine Always!!!!

For me, travel was my big curiosity recharger after 50. One of the things I discovered about travel was this almost addictive drive to seek out places I had never been, but for whatever reason, I had a distinct curiosity to explore. The more I did it, the more my curiosity grew to go to places not so traditional. In my case of travel, the curiosity to visit these new lands led to further curiosities. Once I started experiencing different food & culture, the more I wanted to discover. This is one example of a blossoming curiosity later in life.

In concluding this post, I want to reiterate that curiosity is something we should continue to explore until our final breath if possible. It is the thing that keeps us from being closed off and ignorant to the world around us. It is the pathway often to understanding viewpoints we might have written off as wrong or harmful. Take that path forward on a larger scale and perhaps many of the conflicts that plague our planet could either be resolved, or at least accepted and tempered.