Most of the time I was bored at school. A lot of subjects and tasks were not challenging enough, so I lost interest very fast. Some of the teachers at school saw it and gave me extra tasks to challenge me. There were 3 other pupils like me in our class. We had no problem concentrating on something, the tasks were just too simple. Math or sports, biology or geography – everything was interesting but not inquisitive enough. I remember the days when sometimes after lessons we went to the school library to find something to read, while other children just went home. Curiosity was insatiable. So was the mind and the body. My mother saw the potential and the power of curiosity in me – so she supported it. I had extra lessons in math, she curated my reading list and helped me out with the homework most of the time by giving me extra exercises on a similar topic. I attended music school and dancing class. Chess, tennis, horse riding, swimming, dancing, theater, computer club and other amazing things. A lot of challenging things to do for a developing human being. I am very grateful to her for the support and power that she gave me and still gives. Hunger for more knowledge and curiosity are still fuelling my life till now. Having a broadly diversified background helps me to see things and situations from different perspectives and look for solutions from different areas. And that helped me a lot. But it has also a downside.
Having too many interests leads a person sometimes to wander around without a single drop of will because one did/tried so many things already. The mind needs more sophisticated issues to be challenged. Almost like an addiction. And there are times where you just give up on searching for more and more challenge and just move on to a completely new topic. In this fast developing and constantly changing world it is not that complicated to find a new topic to busy oneself for a while. So there is no problem here. The biggest problem of this mind condition is sticking with just several options and for a longer period of time with no excuse for boredom or routine. Some people call it ‘becoming an adult’, some people call it ‘having patience’. I don’t have a name for it. I just stick with the situation as long as possible or as long as needed. Through my whole life I learned that being curious is what leads to personal evolution. Curiosity for something needs an input. And the input is getting into something wisely and with a courage for a result. Sometimes rushing into to a new thing is also a variant. You can try it out without any prejudices. The first impression is relevant but not always the correct one when you speak of an interest. Whatever variant suits you, just go for it. Let your curiosity free.
Stay curious about the world around you, try things out, be open and stay up-to-date.
Reading recommendations:
- The psychology and neuroscience of curiosity by Celeste Kidd and Benjamin Y. Hayden, 2015, November 4, PDF read on ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Why Are Humans So Curious?, Interview with astrophysicist Mario Livio by Jessica Gross, July 2017, more on longreads.com
Quote of the week:
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realise, the less I know.”
― Michel Legrand
