We’ve all been there. Dragging our lifeless bodies out of bed. Looking for a happy moment. But never seeming to find one. Waiting for bedtime. Only to wake and do it all over again.
Not a way to live. But typically, we get over our slump.
But what do we do if life becomes dull, monotonous and without joy? We change things up. And there’s no better way than instilling curiosity. Here are 3 ways.
How Curiosity Brings Happiness: Here’s just a few
1. Happy Relationships
Let’s begin with a few quotes from Todd Kashdan from The Power of Curiosity,
- The Gallup organization recently reported the results of a survey conducted with more than 130,000 people from some 130 nations, a sample designed to represent 96 percent of the world’s population. The poll identified two factors that had the strongest influence on how much enjoyment a person experienced in a given day: “being able to count on someone for help” and “learned something yesterday.”
- What this poll confirms is that developing good relationships with other people (see above) and growing as a person are foundational components of a “happy” life. Both factors are supported by curiosity.
- … Martin Seligman, PhD, and Chris Peterson, PhD, devised a scientific classification of the basic human strengths. This system was the end result of reading the works of ancient philosophers, religious texts and contemporary literature, then identifying patterns, and finally subjecting these ideas to rigorous scientific tests. Their research eventually recognized 24 basic strengths. And, of those 24 strengths that human beings can possess, curiosity was one of the five most highly associated with overall life fulfillment and happiness.
Further looking at how relationships often determine our happiness lets look at, 4 Reasons Why Curiosity Is Critical To Your Success, by LaRae Quy.
- Motivational speaker Anthony Robbins once said that “the quality of your life is in direct proportion to the quality of your relationships.” We all value curiosity in our friendships. If people are curious about your life, they show empathy, offer advice, and truly care about your happiness.
- A study at the University of Buffalo concluded that the degree to which people are curious influences their personal growth and the level of intimacy that develops when they meet someone new. The study also stated that the degree to which people are curious determines how deep a connection is developed when they encounter someone new.
2. Happy Health
Just type into any browser – “curiosity and better health”- and hundreds of articles come up. And many with numerous studies supporting the idea. Here are a few ways on How Curiosity Brings Happiness
Curiosity Can Be Used to Improve Health Behaviors, -Psychcentral
- “Our research shows that piquing people’s curiosity can influence their choices by steering them away from tempting desires, like unhealthy foods or taking the elevator, and toward less tempting, but healthier options, such as buying more fresh produce or taking the stairs,” said Evan Polman, Ph.D., of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an author of the study.”
How Curiosity Changes Your Brain, – U.S. News and World Report
- “Previous theories of neuroscience told us that the structure of our brains determined how we think and what we do, and that once brain cells die, they’re gone forever. Now, with the science of neuroplasticity, we know that the brain continues to grow and change throughout our lives. So much of what we do changes the brain. Mindfulness practice, for example, can even change how we perceive pain.
- Learning to think differently can have longstanding effects on your brain. Imagine a thought not only as a sensation of your mind but also as a physical, chemical event taking place. Each time a thought enters your mind, neurons fire. As we learn ways of thinking and experiencing emotion, we create neural pathways. These pathways can stay in place, with reinforcement, or change.
- As you learn new skills, portions of your brain actually become larger. In the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for learning and memory, you create new cells throughout your life. And, as you associate certain thoughts with certain feelings, connections develop throughout the brain and become stronger.”
Curiosity. Are you curious enough to read on?, – Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
- “Curiosity is a universal and omnipotent, predominantly human trait.1 It underlies child development and plays a major role in learning, discovery and art. In between, it is the spice of daily life and a strong bonding element between people. For clinicians, curiosity makes the difference between tiresome ‘automatic pilot’ practice2 and keenly expecting to meet a new challenge, a new learning opportunity and a new person on each encounter.3
- To feel and be able to impart this element of renewal and enthusiasm is perhaps the greatest achievement of medical educators, and curiosity is the sine qua non of this and of any meaningful research. No wonder that curiosity (i.e. ‘inquisitiveness’) is an established primary goal of medical education4 and an acknowledged component of professional competence.5”
3. Happiness Overall
The Business Case for Curiosity – Harvard Business Review
- Fewer decision-making errors: “In my research, I found that when our curiosity is triggered, we are less likely to fall prey to confirmation bias (looking for information that supports our beliefs rather than for evidence suggesting we are wrong) and to stereotyping people (making broad judgments, such as that women or minorities don’t make good leaders). Curiosity has these positive effects because it leads us to generate alternatives.”
How to avoid burnout: why embracing curiosity could help us handle stress –Stylist
- See Problems as Opportunities: “Curiosity has many benefits,” explains Lucy Hackshaw, Leadership Futurist and Executive Coach at Flux.“It helps us see problems as opportunities. It enables ‘flow’, which encourages creative and strategic thinking to problem solve and adapt… And studies are now showing us that curiosity displaces stress, anxiety and depression,” she continues, “all of which limit cognitive potential and the ability to access high cognitive skills such as advanced communication and negotiation.”
Curiosity and Interest: The Benefits of Thriving on Novelty and Challenge – Abstract: Handbook of Positive Psychology, Oxford University Press
- Everyday life: “In this chapter, we combine this work to address the nature of curiosity, where it fits in the larger scheme of positive emotions, the advantages of being curious in social relationships, links between curiosity and elements of well-being, and how it has been used in interventions to improve people’s quality of life.
- Our emphasis is on methodologically sophisticated findings that show how curiosity operates in the laboratory and everyday life, and how, under certain conditions, curiosity can be a profound source of strength or a liability.
- People who are regularly curious and willing to embrace the novelty, uncertainty, and challenges that are inevitable as we navigate the shoals of everyday life are at an advantage in creating a fulfilling existence compared with their less curious peers. Our brief review is designed to bring further attention to this neglected, underappreciated, human universal.
4. A longer life?
Curiosity and mortality in aging adults: a 5-year follow-up of the Western Collaborative Group Study – National Institute of Health
- “Research suggests that curiosity in older people is associated with maintaining the health of the aging central nervous system. We examined prospectively the relationship of curiosity in 1,118 community-dwelling older men to subsequent survival over a 5-year period. Curiosity was measured when the participants were a mean age of 70.6 years.
- Initial levels of trait and state curiosity were higher in survivors than in those who subsequently died.
- After adjustment for other risk factors, the state curiosity-mortality association remained significant in the Cox regression model. Ancillary analyses in 1,035 older women (age at initial examination = 68.6 years) confirmed the pattern found in the men. State curiosity in these women was significantly associated with survival after adjustment for other risk factors.
- This is the first study to identify a predictive role for curiosity in the longevity of older adults.”
What 3 Things Can I Do to Extend the Length of My Life? – Time Magazine
- “There is evidence that curiosity has longevity benefits,” says Laura L. Carstensen, a professor of psychology and public policy at Stanford University and the director of the Stanford Longevity Center. “Asking questions and discovering new things keeps you engaged with the world and with other people.”
How Curiosity Brings Happiness: Understanding your own Happiness
Here’s a direct quote from our article, What is Happiness Part 1, The origin of the word happy is derived from the Middle English or Old Norse word for luck or fortune.
- Oxford English dictionary Defined happiness as a, “feeling or showing pleasure or contentment.”
- Wikipedia defines it as, “a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.”
- Merriam Websters Dictionary defines it as “joy” or “a state of well-being and contentment” or “a pleasurable or satisfying experience”
Notice the word’s joy, feeling, and experience are repeated most often. The common theme revolves around being in a state of pleasure or being content.
We can derive from this that happiness is a state of well-being in which we are mentally content, emotionally in pleasure, feeling satisfied or being in a good mood. I believe that this leaves two possibilities. The first is being happy in life. The second is being happy about life.
1. Being happy in life is when we find contentment and joy with our everyday life.
2. Being happy about life is when we feel positive about our past and expectant about our future.
And I purpose that curiosity is what keeps us moving forward in our expectation of future happiness.
In an article 7 Mental Hacks to Be More Confident in Yourself, LaRae Quy, explains the effects of curiosity: The foundation of life-long growth. If we remain curious, we remain teachable and our minds and hearts grow larger every day. We can retain our beginner’s mind by always looking forward and discovering new experiences and uncovering new information.
How Curiosity Brings Happiness: What Makes You Curious?
I define curiosity as a pressing desire to understand things around us and then doing something about it.
- Merriam-Webster defines curiosity as – Marked by a desire to investigate and learn, or an inquisitive interest in others’ concerns.
- Cambridge Dictionary defines curiosity as –An eager wish to know or learn about something.
Curiosity requires effort. It starts with wondering and asking questions. It ends with exploration and discovery.
Christopher Rither
The true exploration of curiosity can be seen in children as they play. Children have the unique ability to take in their surroundings with joy and gusto. Not tainted by the pride of believing they know everything.
Curiosity is the ability to continue in child-like behavior that says every day is a new day of discovery and I’m not too old to satisfy my curiosity.
As we grow old, we begin to surrender to thinking we’ve, ‘seen it all and done it all’. And the older we get, the more we negate curiosity to the domain of cats, children and the naive. If we continue thinking this way, we might find we prefer the safety of apathy and monotony.
In the end, I think all humans are curious to some extent. The question is, will we continue to let our curiosity out to play? Or have we been holding back and making excuses?
Either way, go ahead and start acting on your curiosity and discover how curiosity brings happiness.
- Ask questions.
- Try new things.
- Explore new ideas.
- Start new hobbies.
- Join a club.
- Meet new people.
- Explore your neighborhood.
- Try new restaurants.
Let go, you might find your life becomes better in more ways than one… Just like we covered above