TFC #30: Be A Curious Lifelong Learner

One of the most valuable traits we can nurture is the willingness to be curious lifelong learners.

Curiosity is critical in our professional lives, personal lives, and our spiritual lives.

We’ve often heard the phrase “curiosity killed the cat” that warns us of the dangers of curiosity, but might I remind you that we are not cats. In fact, curiosity should be a life-enhancer.

Curiosity is the strong desire to know and to learn.

How many times have you read a verse in the Bible and thought to yourself, that doesn’t make sense at all?

What do you do?

Do you just skip over it and move on hoping to find some other low hanging fruit to encourage you.

Hopefully, you have enough curiosity to dive deeper and figure out why God would have placed that verse in the Bible for you to read. So then, you study and pray until God reveals the meaning of it.

This is why I say curiosity is good for us in all areas of life.

Curiosity drives us to seek out truth and find answers.

Think of curiosity as the fuel that powers the engine of imagination, propelling us to explore new ideas, solve complex problems, and make meaningful contributions to the world around us.

I was reminded of this topic when I was reading a post in one of the cabinetmaking groups on Facebook. The guy who posted said he retired several years ago and that he would have died for a group like the one he was posting in.

He was encouraging the younger guys to take advantage of the wealth of knowledge that this certain Facebook group provided.

Why is the Facebook group valuable?

Because people ask questions!

The interesting thing is, most times, the question you are not sure if you want to ask, could be useful to a lot of other people, but they just haven’t asked about it yet.

Some studies show that an average 4 year old asks as many 200 to 300 questions per day.

Another study says that children ask an average of 40,000 questions between the ages of 2 and 5.

And then what happens?

Those numbers drop off dramatically as they get older.

By the time they are adults, they are “trained” that asking questions is bad and they should avoid it at all costs so they don’t appear to be dumb.

How many questions have you asked today?

2 or 3?

10?

Or maybe none at all?

I’d much rather be a person who asks questions than a person who pretends to have all the answers.

Let's ask questions without hesitation, seek answers with fervor, and embark on a journey of lifelong learning that's as exciting as it is enriching.

Stay curious!