Curiosity is the heart of motivation that leads several people to the paths of successes, writes Dr Shrirang Bakhle
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“Wow! The movie was fantastic! Absolutely edge of the seat – till the end.” If the director can keep the curiosity alive –“What’s going to happen now??”- throughout the movie, it becomes a hit. Nowadays teens threaten their friends, “I will send you the spoiler!” – meaning, “I will reveal what happens at the end of the movie”. Nobody wants it because this means killing the curiosity.
Curiosity is a basic instinctual wish found even in animals. All the birds and animals are continually curious – and hence they are able to survive! Because they are curious about the surrounding world, they can find food. And it is the curiosity that teaches them about the dangers.
For example, lion cubs are curious (and careful) about snakes. They need to know whether the snake means food or danger. But, traditionally, the brand ambassador of curiosity has been cat! Cats are extremely curious about all things. It is this curiosity about the area that gets them mice – and shelter for the babies. When the cat is pregnant, its curiosity helps her to find out the safest mini cave for delivery and rearing the kittens.
But we humans are actually more curious than cats. It was curiosity that led explorers to all the corners of the world – and even into the depths of ocean and space. It was curiosity that made scientists reach the heights of inventions and researches.
The fantastic progress that we have made is the result of the systematic, focused curiosity of the scientists – for both discoveries and inventions. “What will happen if we do this?” The tremendous desire for experimentation is not limited to just scientists and engineers. Every cook has this curiosity to know how a new permutation and combination recipe will taste. This has resulted in such a wide variety of recipes that we enjoy now.
Curiosity wish has made us not only scientists and explorers, but also gossipers! The wish to know what is happening in the lives of others is a major wish for humans.
But our curiosity about other people is not limited to gossiping about dirty politics or for showing somebody down. It helps us in many ways. We keep learning from others’ experiences. We become smarter by knowing how other people have tackled various problems. One other benefit of is this: knowing about others’ problems and misfortunes motivates many of us to go ahead and help them.
The media and the social media have expanded our circles of gossip. We can come to know what is happening to whom in all parts of the world. Every day it is the curiosity that drives us to open the newspaper and the social media. The curiosity leads to a positive cycle: our curiosity leads us to know more about certain people or topics. And then, because we know more about them, we are more curious about them.
For example, if you know more about politicians or actors or players or businesspeople etc., you will be more curious to know what is happening to them. So you will read more about them. Think: who are the people that you read about with a lot of interest?
One peculiar type is curiosity about dangerous and horrible things. It is this wish that drives people to go and watch horror movies. ‘What can horrible creatures or ghosts do? What terrible fates can people undergo?’ Such curious questions drive the interest in horror movies. The curiosity about dangers is a useful instinctual wish. But it takes a strange turn in this topic.
Children are full of questions because they are curious. What? Why? When? Where? Which? How? Sometimes the adults get fed up of the endless questions.
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But we must remember that it is the curiosity that makes the children learn fast. When they lose the curiosity, learning becomes boring. If the parents and teachers can ignite and channelize the innate curiosity of the children, they can become the best coaches.
The curiosity is equally important at the other end of the life spectrum. We can observe that some of the elder are ‘mentally retired’ and are leading routine, boring lives. On the other hand, we can see many lively elders who are leading enriching lives.
What is the difference between these two groups? The people who are mentally active and lively, are the elders who still have a lot of curiosity! They want to learn new skills, new technologies such mobiles and computers. They are still curious about the wonders of the world. With a positive attitude, they are interested in all the people. Curiosity is the heart of motivation engine that keeps them going. Curiosity and interest in learning new things, actually keeps the ageing process in the brain at bay. So be curious and be healthy!
