Ryan Babineaux and John Krumboltz on “Five Keys to Curiosity”

Fail FastAccording to Ryan Babineaux and John Krumboltz, “Because people spend so much of their lives being talked out of (or talking themselves out of) their curiosity, they often lose a healthy connection to it. If you find that the strength of your curiosity has waned, here are some considerations to keep in mind.” They suggest five:

1. Curiosity keeps you aware and present. “Your curiosity id a kind of awareness, or intelligence, that helps you see more of your world and recognize opportunities to explore and learn.”

2. Curiosity has an expiration date. Don’t procrastinate. “If you wait until later, the present opportunity may no longer be available and your curiosity will have faded.”

3. Curiosity provides energy. “When you are curiosity about something, it propels you into action…Conversely, when you are lacking curiosity, it can be a struggle to take even the smallest step.”

4. Curiosity helps you to learn quickly. “Your curiosity shows you the fastest, most effective way to explore things. It provides a natural way to hone in on the relevant information, skills, and action.”

5. Curiosity gets things moving. “Acting upon your curiosity provides a critical first step that sets things in motion.

“It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” Albert Einstein

Babineaux and Krumboltz discuss all this in much greater detail in Fail Fast, Fail Often: How Losing Can Help You Win, published by Jeremy P. Tarcher/The Penguin Group (2014).

Ryan Babineaux, career counselor and co-creator with John Krumboltz of the popular Stanford University continuing studies course “Fail Fast, Fail Often,” received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in educational psychology and his M.Ed. from Harvard University in psychology and human development.

John Krumboltz is a professor of education and psychology at Stanford University. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, as well as the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is the winner of numerous prestigious honors, including the Outstanding Research Award for the American Counseling Association. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 publications, including Luck is No Accident: Making the Most of Happenstance in Your Life and Career (Penguin Putnam).

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