What is on the other side?
Curiosity has its own reasons for existence. An individual cannot help but be in awe when he or she contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life and of the marvelous structure of reality. The amazing thing about curiosity is that it reminds us of how the mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled. One might even wonder, what is curiosity? Can it even pay my bills? Is it really important? Well, curiosity refers to a strong desire to know or learn something. It is also an eager wish to know or learn about something and different people are curious for so many reasons.
Human curiosity has been linked to learning and information seeking and in terms of our evolution, it makes sense for humans to be curious about the world around them. There are also many studies that have shown a strong genetic component to curiosity and that is the reason why some people are more curious than others. However, not everyone is curious. According to the Five Factor model of personality, openness to new experiences is one of the main components of our personality as individuals. Some people are more drawn towards novelty while others towards familiarity. Some people decide that they do not care or think about the things that they do not know. Some people are simply scared of the unknown.
How many times have we felt a bit too comfortable with our achievements and certain things that we have acquired along the way? Do not get me wrong. It is honestly okay. It gets a bit sad when we get too comfortable to check out other horizons and see what the world has in store for us. Some of us are probably too scared to try out anything new and rush to get rid of any kind of curiosity that might come in when we think about certain things. Maybe it is that constant fear of failure, regret, shame or pain when things refuse to work out after giving them a shot that makes some of us too comfortable to take a step even.To some of us, our validation before different people matters more than our own curiosity and that is why we choose to stay put in one place. We are afraid of people’s reactions and opinions about our goals, thoughts, plans, to mention but a few. With this, comes along comfort and it later becomes a sedative in our lives. However, this does not help us in any kind of way. We end up missing out on lots of opportunities, great friendships and relationships, undiscovered potential, great talent, name it.
Comfort normally comes along with less curiosity and getting to a place of comfort can be uncomfortable sometimes. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience,but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. To the degree we are not living our dreams, our comfort zone has more control over us than we have over ourselves.
What if we decided to focus on what is on the other side? What if we decided to be curious enough about the opportunities before us and about the potential in us that we have not uncovered yet? What if we decided to get out of our comfort zones and be curious enough about what we are capable of doing and achieving? We have to be honest about what we want and take risks rather than lie to ourselves and make excuses to stay in our ‘places of safety’ or our comfort zones. The world offers you comfort but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness. Stretch a little and you might love what is waiting for you on the other side.
