What are the benefits of curiosity

Remember the saying: "A curious Barbara's nose was torn off in the bazaar." It was with her help that in childhood we were weaned from the desire to get into other people's affairs, to explore various incomprehensible, albeit sometimes dangerous, things. Of course, few people managed to wean their child from exploring the world around them, including the adult life of their parents. But growing up, for some reason, we ourselves refuse to show curiosity. Perhaps banal laziness is to blame for everything. Regardless of the cause of this phenomenon, we ourselves harm ourselves with this refusal. Therefore, Estet-portal decided to tell you what benefits of curiosity can help you in life.

Curiosity makes you more attractive

The fact that you are interested in people and the world around you makes your social life richer. If you show curiosity about what your interlocutor says and are able to engage him in discussing a variety of things that interest you, then most likely people enjoy the time they spend in your company. “Curious people are often grateful listeners and good conversationalists,” writes Ben Dean, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. - In the early stages of a relationship, we tend to talk about our interests and hobbies. The reason for this is that people consider a person who "has many interests" to be "interesting" - and for good reason. A curious person brings fun and novelty to a relationship.”

Curiosity prevents aging

Did you know that doing crosswords and putting together puzzles helps prevent Alzheimer's? “Keeping the brain active is a lifelong undertaking,” says David Nopmann, professor of neuroscience at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. “Maintaining intellectual activity throughout life is a powerful means of preventing the onset of senile dementia.” These words are fully confirmed by the French gerontologist Maurice Turbiana, who states on the basis of his research: “Curiosity, intellectual activity, sociability, the desire for knowledge and movement forward hinder the process of aging of brain cells and can significantly delay it.”

Curiosity helps you explore anything

Experiments conducted by the American psychologist James McElroy have established that the speed with which we master new technologies and the efforts we make to do so are directly dependent on curiosity. The more we are curious and open to new things, the easier and faster we will master unfamiliar methods and devices. And a study published in the journal Neuron found that it's much easier to learn things that aren't very interesting when our curiosity is piqued. “If you're trying to learn something boring, try putting in 10 minutes of watching your favorite TV show between episodes. This will give you a break and pique your curiosity by stimulating the pleasure centers in your brain. When you return to your studies, your brain will want new information, which you thought was so boring,” writes study author Mattias J. Gruber. Look for opportunities to pair uninteresting information you need to remember with something that piques your curiosity and interest. Use anything that can capture you, even if it has nothing to do with the subject of study. Alternate boring school with 10-minutes of watching your favorite TV show, prepare a presentation between "recesses" from a new video game, and put cards with irregular verbs between the pages of an exciting novel. Just don't let an innocent 10-minute break turn into an all-night Discovery binge.

even if it has nothing to do with the subject matter. Alternate boring school with 10-minutes of watching your favorite TV show, prepare a presentation between "recesses" from a new video game, and put cards with irregular verbs between the pages of an exciting novel. Just don't let an innocent 10-minute break turn into an all-night Discovery binge.

even if it has nothing to do with the subject matter. Alternate boring school with 10-minutes of watching your favorite TV show, prepare a presentation between "recesses" from a new video game, and put cards with irregular verbs between the pages of an exciting novel. Just don't let an innocent 10-minute break turn into an all-night Discovery binge.

Curiosity helps overcome anxiety

It's perfectly normal to be nervous before a big event. But anxiety can be overshadowed if you are curious or excited about meeting an interesting person. “Even people who suffer from social anxiety - sociophobes, when experiencing intense curiosity, show more appropriate behavior, a tendency to cooperate and a lack of a tendency to avoid communication,” says Todd Kashdan in a study published in “The Journal Of Anxiety Disorders“.

Curiosity makes you happier

Another advantage of curiosity lies in one of the theories of happiness. She claims that at a very early age, we set a “happiness tuning point” that remains the same for the rest of our lives. This basic level of happiness is where we are most of the time, and it is from this level that mood rises or falls in response to positive or negative life events. Todd Kashdan, author of Curiosity: Discovering the Lost Ingredients of a Fulfilled Life, argues that by staying curious, we can push the baseline up a few points. “When we feel curiosity, we want to get away from familiar phenomena and routines and take risks, despite the fact that this causes some anxiety,” Kashdan writes in her book. - Curious feel quite comfortable, risking. They accept the challenge of the new. Instead of desperately trying to explain and control the world, the curious embrace uncertainty and see their lives as a rewarding quest to be discovered, unraveled, and explored.”

How to develop curiosity

We have found that curiosity is an important factor in health and happiness. And developing curiosity in yourself is not at all difficult - after all, the possibilities of new discoveries surround us everywhere! Here are some ideas for daily curiosity muscle training: When you get up. Try to look with a "fresh eye". Choose who or what you will look at differently today - your partner, family members, things in your house ...
2. When you are talking. Make an effort to remain open to whatever is being told to you. Refrain from judgments, condemnation and categoricalness. Ask more questions and listen carefully.
3. When driving. Instead of thinking about nothing, during your daily commute, focus on what the drivers around you are doing and try to predict their next actions. Stay alert to what is happening right in front of you and on the horizon.
4. When you work. Look for opportunities to challenge yourself, spark interest, and achieve maximum results. Ask yourself questions like “how to make it better and more interesting?”

When you are exercising. Instead of doing the exercises automatically, focus on the complexity of the exercises and the sensations you get from your movements - breathing, stretching and squeezing, tensing and relaxing muscles, sounds, smells.

>Start with five minutes of curiosity training every day. After a week, increase your "load" time - be curious when you cook, eat, shower, pay bills, sit on a bench ... Very soon you will feel curious enough to ask and be surprised to find how much happier you have become. And Estet-portal will be very happy if you share your success with us.