“The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” – Albert Einstein (Photo credit: QuotesEverlasting)

Most of us remember the phrase, “did curiosity kill the cat”? And what happened to Jack when he climbed the gigantic beanstalk? Do you think his courage to climb a mysterious gigantic tree and ultimately end up in a giant’s house, changed him? Absolutely!

Many of us abandon our curiosity when we become adults, leaving behind our childlike ways of adventure and explorations. As children we are always growing and learning new things, asking tons of questions, without fear of what others would think. Can you imagine how fun it would be to experience the world with the curiosity of a child, combined with adult wisdom? Why the hesitation?

There are many reasons why people stop asking questions and searching for new things to try. Often times we become comfortable in our routines and lose our vision to create something beyond our current circumstances. The passion simply fades away and we give in to our comfort zone.

The fear of what others think paralyze some people from experimenting with new ideas. Thoughts of embarrassment, shame, and judgement surface and these thoughts are scary. We’ve all experienced the sting of criticism and felt foolish, silly and out of our element, but we survived it and grew from the experience.

 Ideas to Increase your curiosity

* Study others who excel at what you would like to learn to do.

* Read books out of your genre, but interest you a little.

* Hang out with groups of children occasionally and see their inquisitiveness nature and zest for life.

* Make a list of a new things to try each day and give it a valiant effort.

* Start a day journal and stay committed to living for more joy and excitement.

* Take a few risks, not life threatening kind, but safe risks that challenge you to be a better person.

Curiosity moves mankind to greatness. If no one ever took risks, or dared to chase their dreams, there would be no real heroes among us. We would have no role models to challenge us to greatness.

If you look through history, era after era – curiosity brought forth mighty discoveries. One of my historian favorites is Christopher Columbus. I can only imagine the greatness of his mind. The depth of his curiosity and the size of his determination to set out against all odds and discover America is astounding.

Thinking about historic figures such as Christopher Columbus can inspire us to look at patterns of behavior in our lives that have become routine and predictable. Joy is usually found when we are not in pursuit of it. I believe if we practice experiencing more curiosity, the odds are higher for finding inspiration to keep our spirit alive and our mind healthy.

The mind is a beautiful captivating gift from God, unique to every person on earth. I am intrigued by the many great minds I encounter  everyday in life. Some are friends, some are acquaintances and others are just encounters, but they are all different. There is always a reflection or a glimmer of something extraordinary and a desire for more happiness and joy.

Action Point: What are some areas of your life where you can increase your curiosity in hopes to add more overall joy?