Follow your curiosity...
Often time we're told to follow our passion but what if you don't know your passion yet? Following your curiosity will lead you to your passion...
Happy New Week,
This week I want to talk about following your curiosity, this is a habit that has served me very well. Following your curiosity can lead you to your passion, open many doors for you and connect you with the right people.
Many people put a lot of pressure on themselves to find their passion and feel ashamed when they don’t have a passion. We’re constantly advised when considering a career or certain lifestyle, “to follow our passion”, but what if you don’t know what your passion is? This is why I’m recommending following your curiosity first. It’s difficult to find your passion without following your curiosity.
Some people from a young age know what they want to be or do in life. Some people are naturally gifted and talented. Some win the genetic lottery to be amazing sports athletes, and some are blessed to be creative and artistic. Others, like myself, aren’t and that’s fine. A quote I believe describes us well is from Albert Einstein “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” By being passionately curious, I have been able to find areas I can specialise in and thrive in. For example, writing, I didn’t particularly love writing in school but last year I read about the impact writing has and decided this is a skill I want to look into and develop, now here I am fifty newsletters in!
Following your curiosity means that you are a lifelong learner. You have a growth mindset, and don’t view learning as something you do once but something you continuously do. You understand you can learn from anyone and everyone, regardless of age, occupation, or status.
“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” Anthony J. D’Angelo.
We all live in our individual realities so it is important to learn about other people’s worlds. Understand what matters to them, what drives them, their perspective on different topics, etc. The more you expose yourself to different people, places, and things, the more curious you become.
Following your curiosity is important in business as well. You should constantly be innovating, researching, and testing out new things. See what’s working in other businesses or industries and see what you can implement in yours. Try them for a period of time, if it works well, double down on it, if it doesn’t quickly get rid of it. Don’t be afraid to test new ideas. The big companies do it all the time, for example, Amazon has tried to create products such as the ‘Fire Phone’, Amazon Destinations, and Amazon Wallet. Some ideas paid off, most didn’t but they learnt a bunch of lessons that they can apply in the future and serve their customers better.
Following your curiosity means allowing yourself to try new things and to go down new paths. Regardless of how old you are, you are never too old to try something new. Vera Wang for example started out as a figure skater and then tried her hand at journalism. She designed her first dress and opened her first bridal boutique when she was 40 and now she’s a well-renowned designer. There are countless stories of people who found their passion and purpose later in life. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you haven’t found it yet or if you’re losing interest in your current passion.
Many times we don’t give ourselves permission to explore and try things. We let anxiety, fear of failure, and caring too much about what people will think get in our way. You can never go wrong when you follow your curiosity because you end up learning a lot about yourself and the things that bring you joy. Go out and explore all that the world has to offer.
Subomi