It’s great to be curious
If you’re reading this, welcome to my blog page! This is my first post for LisbethMcKinley.com the official website for my new coaching practice.
Thanks for being here. If you are curious about me, you should check out my About page. This post is going to be more about you.
Obviously, I don’t know you but the fact that you are here tells me something about you that’s extremely important. You are curious.
Curiosity is a wonderful trait. It’s the quality of our minds that asks the question, what do I want or need to know about? It could be you. It could be someone else. It could be a subject you want to research or a place you are traveling to. It could be something more existential like, what is my purpose? Or what’s still possible for me at this stage of my life?
The great thing about curiosity is that it’s neutral. Being curious is not in itself a good or bad thing, although to be curious, in my opinion, is tremendously useful. I love being curious and I love when I observe other’s curiosity.
People who are curious tend to be great story tellers and also great interviewers.
One of my favorites of these is Terry Gross of “Fresh Air” fame. I think Terry is one of the great interviewers of all time because she is so curious and asks great questions that provide her listeners with knowledge about a person or issue they may not have known about previously. (Not to mention she has a great voice for radio).
When you have something on your mind that is taking up space and you keep thinking and thinking about it, perhaps going in circles, or getting emotional, maybe even judging yourself, consider getting curious instead.
Being curious starts with the classic journalistic writing prompt: Who, What, Where, Why, When and How?
Depending upon what’s on your mind, try asking yourself, what is top of mind for me right now?
It’s great to have a friend, therapist or colleague you can talk to, but we don’t always have access to people in the moments we need them. You do have another way to get it out of your head, and that’s by writing it down (or typing if you’re like me).
Try writing the sentence, “What’s going on for me right now?” and spend one minute writing about it.
You can also ask, “What’s challenging me right now?” and, again, spend one minute writing about it.
Did you discover anything new or surprising?
