A Curious Mind

I was reminded of this recently while reading about a new autobiography by the Hollywood Producer Brian Grazer entitled A Curious Mind. Mr. Grazer is an esteemed producer and has had a mightily successful partnership over the years with director Ron Howard. We have all enjoyed many of their Oscar winning films. In his book, Mr. Grazer reveals that it was his grandmother, Sonia, who always believed in him, who made him believe that he was something special. And she also told him: “You’re curious. Your curiosity is good. Think big.” A recent review in the Wall Street Journal said of this book “it is not a classic autobiography but a rumination on how one trait, curiosity, reinforced by a readiness to pay attention and then to act, has forged such a remarkable career”.

So why is curiosity so revered? Could it be that so many of us are too distracted, or too preoccupied, or too busy, or too self-absorbed, or too stressed to give a healthy dose of curiosity a chance to breathe? How many adults do we run across acting the genius of 4 year olds, who out of infinite curiosity ask “why” repeatedly? Albert Einstein said “the important thing is not to stop questioning… to never lose that holy curiosity”.

Why is curiosity so important, especially now? First of all, it activates our minds. Curious people are constantly asking questions and searching for answers. Next, curiosity stimulates our minds to observe new ideas, to wonder. Without curiosity, these new things may pass right in front of us without conscious attention because we do not recognize them. We only let in what we know, reaffirming only what we know. Curiosity enables us to see possibilities which are normally hidden behind the surface of normal life. And probably the most important aspect of a curious mind is that it brings excitement into our lives, interrupting the routine, at least when we let it. And, it makes us as people more exciting.

So what does it take? Living curiously requires keeping an open mind; being open to learning, unlearning, and relearning. How else could we possibly change our minds? And what does it say about us if we never do? We also can’t just accept the world or conventional ‘wisdom’ as it is without trying to scratch beneath the surface of what is around us. And we need to be relentlessly asking questions and more questions. What is that? Why is it made that way? How does it work? Lastly, it takes reading… and reading diverse kinds of things. Sure we all like to read for enjoyment, for relaxation and when we do, we gravitate to what we like. But do we allow ourselves enough time to read curiously, to feed our minds with something new?

I always enjoyed those times reading Curious George books with our young son all those years ago. Now it’s time for me to relearn those lessons of wonder from that cute little monkey.