By Psychology Explains How Curiosity Helps You Achieve Goals
April 29, 2021
Many people have big dreams and goals in life, but not all have the traits necessary to achieve them. If you are trying to develop some of those characteristics to increase your chances of success, start out curious.
Curiosity is a fascinating trait. It refers to the desire to find the truth or secrets in everyday activities and to live life. It makes you curious, interested, and easy to get involved. No wonder, then, that it can also be the key to achieving your goals!
Here are six ways that curiosity helps you achieve very ambitious goals.
1. It gives you a sense of purpose
Curiosity and purpose go hand in hand, and in an ideal situation, they would be an endless cycle of positive thinking and forward momentum. When you are passionate about something or feel like something gives you purpose, you are more likely to be more curious about it and that increases your passion even more. It is, for once, a positive form of cycle!
Studies show that having a sense of purpose is incredibly good for your well-being, as it helps with your self-control and self-regulation, which are vital components to achieving goals. The more curious you are, the more fascinating the world becomes and the more meaning you can find in your endeavors and interests.
2. It makes you work better with others
Achieving very ambitious goals it is usually something you cannot do completely alone. While the primary effort and responsibility for achievement are yours, you will often need many other elements to be successful. You will have to work with like-minded people, collaborate with others, and seek the knowledge and wisdom of experts.
Many people with big dreams become very proud of them, which is fair, but it can lead to a weak point. Believing that you have to “go it alone” for achievement to matter is simply false and very stubborn. By nature, human beings want to support and help each other, and everyone needs a little help sometimes!
Curiosity makes you a better team player, allowing you to achieve your goals thanks to the support and help of the people around you. That is how:
You are better collaborating
Have you ever heard of the rules of improv comedy? When responding to others, you have to say “yes, and” to keep the flow of collaborative improvisation flowing, always building on the other person rather than shutting down their ideas. That’s what collaboration is all about. Curiosity does, so naturally you want to say “yes, and”. You want to explore new possibilities and tap into the novel thoughts of others, making you a better team player overall.
You are better at engaging in dialogue
When you are curious, you are less likely to judge or accuse when you see someone doing something in a way that you think is wrong. Instead, you would be curious to know how the other person thinks and you can ask them about it politely and with genuine interest. These people will be happy to engage in a meaningful, positive, and productive dialogue with you to give you new ideas and open your mind while showing your confidence in the other person’s process.
You are a better leader
Working with others sometimes means working positively on top of them, as a leader or manager. When you have very ambitious goals, it is natural that at some point you end up in that position. The best leaders They are those who do not fool themselves into thinking that they are intellectually above their team. They are curious! They are interested, eager to understand their team, and are very welcoming and flexible when they come up with new thoughts and ideas. This encourages a team to be more creative, so your curiosity drives them!
3. Increase performance
Curiosity is known to improve performance in many different fields. Regardless of where your goals are, chances are being curious can help you. On the surface, here are some performance areas that can fuel natural curiosity:
Academic achievement
When you’re curious, you are likely to put more effort into learning about different topics. Of your own free will, you will be more willing to study, remember lessons, and do projects for academic success. This carries over into other areas of your life as well, depending on studies.
Improved participation
Curiosity can help you participate in activities in a learning environment with greater enjoyment and positive thinking. Your desire to learn increases, so you are more eager to join in on things that were previously tedious or boring. Alternatively, that curiosity may make you want to participate to see what happens or give it a try.
· Job performance
The goals of many people lie in their career paths. When you are curious, you will be more interested in progressing in that career. According to the research, you will be more involved, work harder, and get more involved with your work, which will lead to better performance.
4. Open your mind
Few goals can be achieved without an open mind. The reality of the world is that it is much broader than a single human brain can comprehend without seeking to expand. The sooner you realize that, the faster you will reach your goals. Curiosity can help significantly with that, and here’s how:
It makes you find innovative solutions
Being curious means that you are willing to look everywhere to solve problems, which is a crucial skill for achieving goals. You can find methods to overcome obstacles in unexpected but effective ways, and you are willing to try new and surprising things to achieve that solution.
Show you opportunities
The world is full of limitless opportunities and doors, but most people ignore a good portion of them in favor of more conventional opportunities. The ability to see all the possibilities that others don’t consider worth pursuing is precious when you have very ambitious goals. Curiosity can open your mind to a world of doors to open, and you’ll be happy to try each one, even if it seems strange to you!
Expand your bubble
Naturally, no one knows everything, and most people’s knowledge is limited to their personal experiences or the experiences of those closest to them. This can hinder progress toward goals, as larger plans often involve the need to cultivate. To learn about things foreign to you, curiosity helps expand your bubble. You will want to explore other cultures, mindsets and ideas that you have never had access to before. Instead of avoiding the unknown, you will welcome it wholeheartedly.
Helps you face your fears
Everybody has something fears in lifeBut these fears can keep you from moving toward very ambitious goals. Curiosity helps you face these fears by making you intrigued by the unknown wonders that may lie beyond your apprehension. You will feel driven to act, even if it is difficult, all because you are curious as to what will happen if you do!
5. It makes you a better person through improvement
Highly ambitious goals don’t need you to be the best person you can be, but they certainly help you. When you experience personal growth, you learn to better address problems and prevent predictable problems that can arise when you pursue your dreams. Being a better person means that your old complexes can’t get the better of you as you go along.
Curiosity can help you become a better person by pushing you to pursue self-improvement. Here are some ways it does it:
Increase your self-awareness
Being self-aware is a crucial part of positive social interaction and everyday lifestyle choices. If you are not in tune with yourself and your behavior, you are more likely to do things that harm others and yourself. Curiosity helps self-awareness because it forces you to keep asking questions. You will challenge yourself and your actions, always seeking to discover the truth behind them.
Keeps you humble
To improve, you must recognize your weaknesses and know how much you have to grow. Curiosity can help foster this humility, as you have to put your pride aside if you really want to know more about a topic or find out how you can improve.
Makes you aware
Curious people are more in touch with the world around them. They are attracted to seemingly innocuous or unimportant characteristics in the present. Being curious means knowing how to stop and smell roses, as those roses can hold all kinds of secrets that you desperately want to explore and discover! This is a crucial characteristic of mindfulness, which is an important trait that allows you to live your best life in the present moment.
6. Encourage positive thinking
Few people can successfully achieve very ambitious goals with pessimism. Positive thinking and ingrained optimism are often crucial to making good progress. When you are always thinking negatively, you can form self-fulfilling prophecies. It’s like the saying goes: if you think you can or can’t, you’re right.
Research has long indicated that people with high levels of curiosity tend to be happier, more positive people. This is likely because:
- They have lower levels of anxiety thanks to years of just trying
- They are more satisfied with life, as they tend to regret less.
- Have newer experiences that make them feel better and happier.
- They learn more and feel more fulfilled as a result.
- They have better social relationships and therefore have more social support.
In other words, curiosity fuels positive thinking, which fuels curiosity again! The power of interest is such that it can form numerous healthy cycles that are easy to perpetuate, and optimism is just one of the ways it does this.
Final thoughts on some ways curiosity helps you achieve very ambitious goals
They say that curiosity killed the cat, but few realize that this famous saying ends with “but satisfaction returned it.” Turns out, curiosity is more likely to drive you back than metaphorically kill you. So go ahead and pursue your goals with zeal! You will find that your chances of success increase when you dare to ask questions and experiment.
