My favourite childhood book was, and still is Alice in Wonderland. I love it because it’s weird, it’s an adventure, and the self-asserting protagonist is driven by curiosity (and some righteous indignation from time to time).
There she is in a strange land where none of the rules in her real life holds true, but does she hide herself away? Any fear she has is overtaken by her desire to understand and engage. She just keeps asking questions, opening doors, eating and drinking strange things and talking to very odd, rather stroppy characters.
She is on a journey of discovery. And even when we’ve set our goals, got our mindset right and sorted out what processes we need, so are we. We need to stay curious.
As we implement our processes, how are they working? What makes them easier or harder to follow? Are they having the desired effect? How could we make them more effective or efficient?
Awareness is the keystone to self-development and it’s not just necessary when we plan our journey but also while we undertake it.
Like any journey, we’ll have ideas along the way, and encounter short-cuts or roadblocks.
We need to stay curious. We need to keep asking questions, playing with options, trying new solutions.
What Would Make Your Boat Go Faster?
In the book ‘Will it make the Boat go Faster?’ Ben Hunt-Davis is on a quest to rescue the England rowing team from the humiliation of further repeated dire defeats.
They decide on a plan to review every single component of the process and equipment and implement whatever will make the boat go faster, even if only by a small amount. They examine EVERYTHING down to the tiniest, seemingly craziest detail.
After making every change and perfecting every process, you guessed it, the team won Olympic gold.
Hunt-Davis and his team got curious about what would improve performance. If we want to get there faster, we can do this too.
Or you can just read the book – it’s an inspiring and amusing story well told.
And if you could do with some additional hacks, inspiration or support, you can book a call with me here
3 TOP TIPS TO SPARK YOUR CURIOUSITY
1) Ask Yourself Question 1 Why am I doing so well on this journey? Can I turn up the volume on any of the things I am doing? How could I do it? And can I do start tomorrow?
2) Ask Yourself Question 2 Where is the friction on this journey – where do I start to lose my resolve? How can I avoid it? How can I overcome it?
3) Ask Yourself Question 3 Why am I on this journey? Revisit your motivation – what and who are you doing it for? What will happen if you succeed/don’t succeed, how will you feel and who will you be?
