Revolutionizing Life through the Power of Curiosity

Part 1: What if harnessing the power of curiosity could radically transform your perspective on life? Join me as we explore the importance of cultivating curiosity and its impact on various aspects of life, from education and science to leadership and relationships. Discover how curiosity can boost your happiness, achievement, empathy, and even health, as long as it doesn't lead to destructive behavior.

In this captivating episode, we delve into the world of curiosity, beginning with a look at how it positively affects student engagement and learning. We discuss whether curiosity should be added as a fifth C (alongside creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration) in education. We also examine the critical role curiosity has played in scientific discoveries and its value in leadership and innovation. Finally, we explore how curiosity can foster deeper, more connected relationships, starting with our spiritual walk with God and extending to our most intimate connections. So come along on this journey, and let curiosity revolutionize the way you approach your work, relationships, and spiritual growth!

Chapters

• 0:00 The Importance of Curiosity
• 10:06 Power of Curiosity in Life

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

The Coupelitas Podcast. Here's to now control All systems. Go. Welcome to the Coupelitas Podcast. I am Nick Coupelitas, your host, and this is episode number 17. And I am pumped about today's episode. I am pumped about today's topic Because, hear me on this, if you stir up what we are going to talk about today, it is going to radically change your life, change your perspective.

Speaker 1: 0:46

The more I've read about this, the more that I am understanding. I want more of this in my life. And guess what? You don't have to go out and buy some kind of like snake oil. You don't have to buy a new outfit. You don't have to spend a lot on this per se, like financially. All you have to do is be willing to stir this thing up, this trait that we are going to talk about. Yes, and it is a trait. It's a human trait, i think. In every person that's been born they've had some measure of what we are going to talk about today, from the time they are maybe in the womb to the time they are toddlers and teenagers and so on. But this trait, if you don't stir it up, it goes away And there is a lot of people who have lost this trait. The more I've read about it, the more I've realized that this trait has to be in every person's life, in a relationship, in your business, because this trait actually research proves that this trait actually helps you not only survive, it can help you thrive. It can actually add to the happiness of your life, boost achievement, expand your empathy, strengthen relationships, improve your health. I know it sounds like a tall order of what I'm saying, but once we get into it you are going to be like you know what I really believe. There is something to that, alright, so I want to start this. I haven't told you what it is yet. I understand that.

Speaker 1: 2:23

I want to start this discussion with a few riddles, oh, riddles, and here's actually the riddle. The riddle is what do all of these riddles have in common? Alright, you've been taken by an alien. It's the first riddle. Okay, you've been taken by an alien, and the alien says to you you have to choose between three rooms. The first room is full of raging fires. The second room is filled with assassins with loaded guns. And the third is filled with lions who haven't eaten in years. You have three seconds to choose. Which room are you going to choose? The first, the second or the third Ready, three, two, one. Well, which one did you choose? Hopefully you chose the third one with the lions. Why? Because the lions haven't eaten in years. And the aliens that they are dead. That's right, they're dead. Second riddle I didn't say these riddles were, like you know, wonderful, i just said these are riddles.

Speaker 1: 3:28

Okay, what do these riddles have in common? I can hear like my kids going these riddles are cheesy. No, just just. Just just just track with me here, alright. Second riddle What can you hold in your right hand but not in your left?

Speaker 1: 3:48

Ready Go, three, two, one. You can't hold your left hand Right, your left hand can't hold your left hand. So that's the answer Your left hand, alright. Last riddle Okay, here we go.

Speaker 1: 4:05

This is the toughest of all the riddles. This ancient invention allows people to see through walls. What is it? Three, two, one. What is it? Yes, that's right. If you said X-ray vision, you are exactly right. It is a. No, it's not X-ray vision, it's a window, it's a window. So what do these three riddles have in common?

Speaker 1: 4:32

Well, these three riddles did something, stirred something up in you, and that's the human trait in which we're going to talk about today, and that's the human trait of curiosity, say curiosity. Curiosity is triggered to a response of uncertainty or not knowing something, or there's a mystery there and you want to resolve it. And so a curious person will want to resolve that uncertainty. That's why the riddle stirred up in you Curiosity. So let's define curiosity, okay.

Speaker 1: 5:08

Curiosity is a strong desire to know or learn something, a strong desire to learn and know something. Curiosity has to be cultivated, it has to be stirred up. You have to be a learner in order to be a curious person. Once we lose that passion for learning and for growing, we lose curiosity. Actually, probably the one of the ways that you would know that you're not a learner is that you're not curious. How do you know if you're not curious? Well, you're not asking questions, you're not being inquisitive, you're you're not pursuing some maybe of the deeper answers, or you're not cultivating a sense of discovery in your heart. And so you kind of get to that point and sometimes life does that to us Where we start to feel numb to the world around us and we kind of lose that passion to learn. And we're gonna talk about that in a little bit enemies of curiosity. But curiosity is so important in your life, that strong desire to learn, that strong desire to grow.

Speaker 1: 6:24

A man once said your curiosity is your growth point always. Your curiosity is your growth point always. Let me give you a disclaimer, since we're talking about curiosity. I don't want you to all of a sudden be like well, he's saying, be curious, don't do sinful things, don't do things that are gonna lead you to a path or a conclusion of destruction. Right?

Speaker 1: 6:48

So we know that idiom curiosity killed the cat. Originally that was from William Shakespeare's play Much Adieu About Nothing, and the quote goes like this What courage, man. What, though? care killed the cat. Thou hast meddled enough in thee to kill care. And so originally that phrase was care killed a cat. And then, over time and through different kind of you know, iterations and revisions and culture and society, that word care somewhere curiously became curiosity, because cats by their very nature are curious. So they believe that somewhere along the line someone said it wasn't care that killed the cat, it was curiosity that killed the cat.

Speaker 1: 7:37

But here's what's interesting. I was reading something where somebody said it's not that curiosity killed the cat, it's that curiosity skilled the cat. And here's the connection, right That if I want to be skilled in my environment, in my calling, in my role, at my work, at my job, i want to be skilled. Yes, you're gonna need knowledge, you're gonna need experience, you're gonna need education, you're gonna need a bunch of different things, but one of the things that are just as important to be successful is to be curious, is to be curious. Think of people like, let's say, walt Disney. Right, he said this curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. Right, because curiosity opens up the door for so much discovery and innovation and excitement. And look at Disney today. I don't mean the woke part of Disney, but because of one man's curiosity, it fueled a revolution in entertainment. It's pretty amazing.

Speaker 1: 8:49

Let's talk about curiosity in a few different arenas, like first one, education. Let's talk about the importance of curiosity in education. Now, have you ever been in a class where you thought you would love the topic? You thought, man, this thing is gonna be exciting, this thing is gonna be great, and you get into it and it's just boring. And you're like why is this boring? Why is this not as exciting as I thought it should be? or I thought it would be? And that could be just the fact. The way that it's being taught is that, instead of stirring up curiosity in those who are listening. It missed the point and it brought boredom. This, to me, happens in history a lot. that you can hear somebody talk about history and history is so exciting and so wonderful And it's like you know what. Why is it just dates? Why is it just one date after another? That's not very exciting, but if you can push past the dates to realize these were real people with real lives, real struggles, real victories, real triumphs, real defeats, all of a sudden history becomes alive.

Speaker 1: 10:06

It's so important in education to foster curiosity. Let me read you from educationweekorg All right, listen to this. It seems that fostering student curiosity can have a direct impact on student engagement, interest and assist students in driving their learning. For instance, neuroscientists from the University of California at Davis found that high curiosity may improve individuals' memory for information they acquire, and they suggest quote, stimulating curiosity ahead of knowledge acquisition could enhance learning success. Unquote, and a meta-analysis of over 200 students found that curiosity influences academic achievement and curiosity with conscientiousness has much of an impact on achievement as intelligence. Listen, if you have to rewind that and listen to it again. Listen to that part again. It's amazing, because here's the thing In education they talk about four Cs that are so important. All right, these four Cs are creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration. And I love this article which is named The Importance of Curiosity and Questions in the 21st Century Learning, and it says we have these four Cs, but maybe there should be a fifth one, which is curiosity.

Speaker 1: 11:46

Curiosity is so important. So you know what? Maybe you have a son or a daughter that's in school and they're finding it boring. Well, maybe what needs to be addressed is is this interesting? Is it exciting to them? What speaks to them? Or maybe you're leading a company or division and people are bored And it's like you know what. Maybe you're just going through the dates, so to speak, and you're not stirring up the inquisitive nature that's in your students, that's in your listeners, that's in your staff, in your company. You're not stirring up that human trait that everyone is born with.

Speaker 1: 12:22

Educationalist Ken Robertson describes curiosity as this quote, the engine of achievement. Why? Because curiosity, of course, goes hand in hand with discovery. I'm now reading from the Enlightened Mindset Hand in hand with discovery. While curiosity inspires us to find out, discovery provides the reward of finding out. Curiosity leads to discovery, their hand in hand. This is why curiosity in education is so important, but curiosity in science is so important. According to Dr Amy Chong, professor of psychology at the University of Hong Kong quote curiosity is the spark that can ignite creativity and open up new possibilities in science.

Speaker 1: 13:15

Scientific discovery requires an inquisitive mind. Without curiosity, scientists would not be able to identify new problems or devise solutions to existing ones. Dr Christopher Holman, professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University, states quote inquisit This is a hard word Inquisitiveness is the most important quality for a successful scientist. Scientists must be able to ask questions, seek out new information, explore alternative hypothesis in order to make meaningful contributions to their field. He's basically saying that without curiosity, there will not be contributions that are meaningful into science, into humanity. You need curiosity.

Speaker 1: 14:07

Albert Einstein was famously curious about the nature of the universe. Through his explorations, he developed the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics, which revolutionized our understanding of the physical world. Similarly, similarly, similarly I am curious of why I can't say anything today. Similarly, marie Curie was driven by her curiosity to investigate the properties of radiation leading to the development of x-ray technology and modern treatments for cancer. Another example is Alexander Fleming, who was curious gotta grab the paper was curious about a mold growing on a petri dish, which led to his discovery of penicillin And, as you know, penicillin was one of the first antibiotics that was created. And all because this was curious.

Speaker 1: 15:02

So curiosity is important in education, it's important in science, it's important in leadership. The Serif Corp Institute, i believe they're out of Singapore said this about curiosity in leadership. Curiosity allows leaders to dive deeper into questions and emerge with more viable and unique solutions to solve problems and innovate. Being curious also advances the flow of communication and information within the organization and helps with much better decision-making. You know, some of the issues that you might be having in your department or in your company is that you haven't fostered curiosity, and that could be for a number of reasons, but maybe actually it's not a personnel problem, maybe it's not a system problem And maybe it comes down that it's a culture problem, that curiosity is not welcome because creativity, innovation, it's like, hey, we've always done it this way, this is the way that it's worked, but you're hitting some plateaus, maybe even some declines, and as a leader you have to go.

Speaker 1: 16:15

You know what Let me bring out of my staff or my department or my company? let me bring out this trait. Let me give them the freedom to be creative, to be curious, to ask questions, to be innovative, and you can apply that anyway that you'd like to, all right. So that was a touch on leadership, and I wanna now look at a fourth area that, if you allow it to. I think this is the radical transformation, and of all of these areas, we're just looking at what curiosity does for education, science and leadership.

Speaker 1: 16:51

But this area, i think this area is where the radical change happens, and that's the area of relationships, the connection between curiosity and relationships. And I think the way that we approach this is that we look at our most intimate and connected relationships that we have in our life And begin with God, begin with the Lord, begin with your spiritual walk before the Lord, then step out from there. What's the most intimate relationship? If you're married, it's gonna be your spouse. Outside of that it might be your kids And then outside of that one, it might be close friends or your church community. But apply the idea of curiosity to the most intimate and connected relationships that you have in your life And when we look in a few moments at the enemies of curiosity, especially within relationship, it's really, i think it's a snare, it's a trap that we all can fall in of losing that idea of curiosity. Because curiosity in a relationship will deepen the connection, deepen the bond, and I think every human wants to have a relationship in their life that it's deep, it's vulnerable, they're known from the inside out And partly that's curiosity plays a role in that.

Speaker 1: 18:28

Psychology today writes this. Psychologists distinguish between two kinds of curiosity perpetual and epistemic. The former describes a toddler's kind of curiosity, a ceaseless exploration of new stimuli. Epistemic curiosity, on the other hand, has to do with seeking knowledge. The one's looking for stimuli and one's looking for knowledge. As we grow older, our perceptual curiosity naturally tends to diminish. We learn more about the world around us and no longer to seek to test its limits. But we also fall into cognitive patterns and learn behaviors. While these patterns provide structure to our days, they can also limit our epistemic curiosity and preclude possibilities to explore the world outside our comfort zone.

Speaker 1: 19:22

What's it saying? It's saying as you get older and you get into your routines and your life becomes predictable and you don't have to be curious anymore. You don't have to look for the system or look for the better way, because, hey, this is just the way that it is And you know what I feel like I'm succeeding in it And all of a sudden you find that you are not this kind of wide-eyed, open, finding and discovering new things. You're just in a routine. You're just and this happens with relationships where all of a sudden that person that at one time was a knight in shining armor has now become just another person in your life. Or that person, that friendship that you had with that person, that in certain seasons you were so close And you know what You sort of. I know that person and you know that familiar individual becomes boring. And I'd like to say this if curiosity is a foundational trait in your life, it's very hard for a person to become boring. Where science might be exploring space and the universe, you have to look at people as I wouldn't say endless it might not be endless, but let's use that word in endless exploration.

Speaker 1: 20:47

I know some of my closest friends, some of the closest people to me. Over the decades they've changed. So the way that they might answer questions is different, the way that they see the world is different, their opinions have changed. And guess what? If I have curiosity as part of our friendship and part of our bond, then you know what, it doesn't grow old. I don't wanna be a person especially when I get older, where you know it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. Well, it's hard to teach an old man new things, you know, because we think, i think humans, we think that we know it all, and so I wanna be someone that tests the limits. I want to be someone that experiences new things. All right, let me keep going with this.

Speaker 1: 21:31

Psychology today. The simplest way to practice curiosity is to test the boundaries of your comfort zone. Those closest to us fall within this zone, but without a healthy dose of curiosity and exploration, even strong relationships can go stale. According to one study, most romantic relationships end not because of finances or conflict, but because of boredom. On the other hand, partners are happier and feel closer after exploring novel, exciting experiences together. Really meaning, at the end of the day, you have to make an intentional choice to be curious, you have to make an intentional choice. Let me keep going a little bit further with this article from psychology today.

Speaker 1: 22:23

When it comes to social interactions, you can shift your perspective to think of uncertainty as opportunity, rather than try to avoid the tension that is such situations produce, which can be both mentally and physically exhausting. Apply that energy to engaging others. Ask open-ended questions and actively listen to their answers with follow-up questions. By showing interest, you will in turn, peak their curiosity and the responses will go deeper than superficial small talk. I'm gonna tell you something here.

Speaker 1: 23:04

This might be the key I will say one of the keys that's in so important to a long-lasting marriage, to long-lasting relationships in your life, because curiosity really says this. At the end of the day, you are important to me, you are a priority to me. This is in relationships and you are interesting to me When you add those to any relationship. You know what it really says to somebody else. I find value in who you are. I find value in who you are. So if curiosity, the strong desire to know and learn something, is applied to relationship, then I'm going to value someone else. I'm gonna value their opinions. I'm gonna value who they are. Why? Because I was curious. It doesn't mean I always agree. It doesn't mean it's gonna be something. That is a flaw. Again, it's one trait among others. But if I lose the idea of being curious, then I shortchange the experience of relationship. Because if there's one thing that I'm pulling from this episode. It's that curiosity is the spice of life. It is the spice of life. All right, you know what I'm gonna do right now. I'm gonna go record part two talking about enemies of curiosity, traits of a person that's curious. And be curious, my friend, be curious. All right, i'm out.

Speaker 1: 24:52

Thank you so much for listening to the Coupelitis podcast. Please consider supporting this by a donation at thecoupelitispodcastcom. It is a tax deductible donation. If you would like to write into the show, you can write me at coupelitis at gmailcom Yes, you gotta figure out how to spell that but share, subscribe. See you next time. Just show up.