Somewhere around the age of 3-5 years old, a child will enter what’s known as the “Why Phase.” This represents a child’s growing curiosity about themselves and the world around them. In general, an answered question tends to lead to more unanswered questions. This process can lead to comical and sometimes frustrating situations where a child asks why, receives and answers, and then asks, “But why?” again and again.
At some point in our lives, many of us have lost this curiosity. I believe that curiosity is not gone, just hidden. Hidden by the weight of the burdens placed on our shoulders. These burdens come from a variety of forms, such as responsibilities and needs, but also in the events and occurrences that happen to us on a daily basis. This curiosity is something I hope to spark in others again.
The goal I have for each and every one of us is to be able to unburden yourselves of the things you’ve been carrying, things you don’t need to carry. Removing the burdens of things you can change. Not only will this allow for that curious part of you to emerge, but by allowing this curiosity to influence you and your life, you will find a sense of peace even in the things you can’t control. You will find a sense of peace in the process of making your life how you would hope to make it.
I have experienced this for myself. There was a time I felt completely numb. I felt like I was living life for everyone else, their goals, their dreams. I had lost mine. I found them again. It took a lot of work, a lot of digging, and now that I have my dreams and goals again, I find myself driven again.
The curious approach is one of pushing back on your own assumptions. I’ve found some assumptions are paper thin (such as the negative thoughts I had about myself), and other assumptions have stood push after push. With each push, I understood not only what was true or not true, but I also began to understand that truth a little bit better.
At the core of the curiosity approach is asking questions. The questions have to come from you. Others can promote or influence those questions, but if they don’t come from you it won’t stick. It takes effort, it takes time, but it is in that grappling for answers that your brain creates the pathways and processes to understand those answers.
So, what are you going to ask first?
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