Have you ever wondered why little kids ask “why” so much?  The innocent curiosity of a child is the best way I can think of to describe the way we learn and grow.  Think about it – they simply want to know the answer.

“Why this?” and “Why that?”  I know as adults sometimes we get tired of answering all those questions – in fact , sometimes we don’t really know the answer.  Why do they call it night when it’s dark outside even though it’s part of a day?  My answer to this question would probably be something deep in content like “because.”

There is so much in this world that we have not discovered and it is the curious mind that seeks to learn more.  The more we learn, the more we grow.  How many times do you ask “WHY?” every day?  Do you even take the time to try and learn the things you don’t know or are you simply satisfied with where you are currently at?

John Maxwell in his book The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth gives us ten ways in which we can cultivate curiosity:

1.  BELIEVE YOU CAN BE CURIOUS

Don’t limit yourself as far as asking questions.  For some strange reason, we seem to think that asking questions is a weakness, that it shows a lack of knowledge.  I would suggest that it is the pathway to knowledge.

2.  HAVE A BEGINNER’S MIND-SET

Do you think little kids keep from asking questions because the person they are asking might not know the answer?  No.  Sometimes the difficult question leads to the most meaningful conversation.

3.  MAKE WHY YOUR FAVORITE WORD

What if you challenged yourself to learning why everyday?  If you don’t know, find out.  We don’t know what we don’t know and we will never know what we don’t know until we ask why.

4.  SPEND TIME WITH OTHER CURIOUS PEOPLE

Do you spend time with people who want to know why or do you spend time with people who are satisfied with what they already know?  Maybe you are spending time with the guy who knows it all.  What was the last thing you learned from him?

5.  LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY

Do you learn something every day?  I remember a friend of mine in college who had a bookmark that he used to write down the words he didn’t know or wanted to know more about.  I am pretty sure he learned something every day.

6.  PARTAKE IN THE FRUIT OF FAILURE

Sometimes failure is the best way to experience why.  We have heard it since we were kids “learn from your mistakes.”  There is definitely at least one “why” in every failure.  It would be beneficial to discover the answer to avoid the same failure again.

7.  STOP LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT ANSWER

Do you ever find yourself looking for the answer you want instead of the real answer?  Have an open mind when looking for the meaningful answer to the question.

8.  GET OVER YOURSELF

It is OK not to know the answer.  It is also OK to ask the question that might mean you fail again.  Decide that the discovery of the truth is more important that how you got there.

9.  GET OUT OF THE BOX

There are no rules on what questions you can ask.  Allow yourself to ask the questions that you think may not have an answer.  You might just be surprised at what you learn.

10.  ENJOY YOUR LIFE

New experiences make life an adventure.  Ask the questions that will expose you to something new and don’t settle for what you already know as being enough.

 “Some men see things as they are and ask why.  Others dream things that never were and ask why not.”    –  George Bernard Shaw

Don’t accept things the way they are.  There is so much more to life, more than we even realize.  Challenge yourself to ask questions and don’t stop until you find the answer. It might just lead to something great!

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Next Up:  Law #13  The Law of Modeling.

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Barry Smith   www.buildingwhatmatters.com   12/26/12       photo by author