25/08/2025
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NO! Curiosity did NOT kill the cat as the old proverb goes…
My parents thought so. SADLY. I grew up at a time, in a home, in a culture, a society where curiosity was not encouraged. Following a tried, tested and middle-of-the road approach was the way.
To my detriment. I was discouraged to challenge the status quo and rock the boat. Messages from my father were “Always be a lady.” Whatever he meant by this! “Don’t ever dare to embarrass me!” “You have to be perfect!” … My CURIOSITY was stunted in the process.
Fortunately, I was wilful and challenged his instructions. By Grace, I did what I felt was right for me, despite his rage when I did so. Slowly I carved my own way on my journey through life. Yes, of course I failed. However, my mistakes were valuable lessons. Ask yourself this key question; what happened to your curiosity as a child?
All of us are born with CURIOSITY-it’s a natural impulse. We’ve all got it; the challenge is using and developing it for our own benefit. From birth, a child’s mind is engaged in an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. The baby’s every sense is attuned to exploring and learning.
Like little scientists, babies experiment with everything in their environment. As soon as they can speak, children start articulating question after question: “Mommy, how does this work?”, “Daddy, where do babies come from?” These questions are not always treated with care by adults. “Don’t ask so many questions!” “Just be quite for a bit!” We sadly stop questioning. The result? We stay in the box’s adults put us in.
Leonardo Da Vinci said, “The desire to know (curiosity) is natural to good men.” Great minds, like Leonardo, go on asking confounding questions throughout their lives. His child-like sense of wonder and insatiable curiosity, his breadth and depth of interest, and his willingness to question accepted knowledge never abated. Curiosity fuelled the genius throughout his life.
Curiosity is a crucial component of creating new, novel and original solutions to problems. If we as adults stop asking questions about what challenges the world of today, answers remain elusive. It is a matter of “What next,” “What else,” How might I?” “Wouldn’t it be nice if…”, else we may be doomed.
TWO EXERCISES TO ENHANCE YOUR CURIOSITY:
Quantity of ideas determines how novel your answer will be. So? Get going!
• Look at any object, a matchstick, a pencil or a flower petal. The possibilities are endless. Write down as many questions as you can about your choice. The more the merrier. Don’t judge!
• Now, look at your object again. See in how many uses for it you can find.
“I am looking for a lot of men with an infinite capacity to not know what can’t be done.” - Henry Ford
Dr.Sonia
