This is a sad truth. Most millennials I know are either bored or stressed with respect to their jobs.
One of the hardest lessons I learned after graduating college is that no one is going to force you to stay curious. If we are to maintain a sharp intellect and desire to learn, we have to make it happen ourselves.
It has been said many times that higher education extends our youth: those sweet years spent poring over books and sweating over words end up being some of the most mentally rigorous years of our lives. Also some of the best.
But what if we can stay curious, no matter what our jobs are? What if, despite the challenges that we face to pay the bills, we can keep even just a sliver of that youthful curiosity that was once our sole occupation?
The thing I love about staying curious is that it keeps our options open. Maybe we don’t have to be bored or stressed forever. Maybe we don’t have to feel stuck. If we continue to hone our ability to learn, then possibilities increase.
6 Ways to Stay Curious (despite your job)
1) Read quality work, selectively.
Let me be blunt: there is a lot of crap out there. I know, because I’ve written some of it. What we need is not more words; we need the right ones. The ones that give us life and inspiration. The ones that lead us where we want to go.
I’ve always been careful with magazine subscriptions, because I fear they will eventually pile up and collect dust somewhere in our house. But last month I finally took the plunge and subscribed to the print version of The New Yorker. Many of my favorite authors contribute to it, and reading their work sharpens my own writing. Find your New Yorker.
2) Explore new places.
I’ve noticed that I lose my curiosity and passion for learning when everything I see is familiar. There’s nothing in my routine that sparks that sense of adventure that I love so much.
Therefore, I’m a big proponent of travel, though I don’t think international travel is necessary for everyone. So whether you explore your home country or just wander through a new neighborhood, stepping out of the familiar is likely a good thing.
3) Exchange stories with the people in your life.
Storytelling is not the same as rambling; it requires the succinct construction of a narrative that (hopefully) delights the listener. And, listening to stories can be a challenge for many of us as well. We have to ask questions, empathize, use our imagination.
Exchanging stories not only builds relationships, but also helps us to step aside and look at ourselves from another perspective. A good occasional exercise, if you ask me.
4) Commit to creativity.
The term “creative” has become a noun, indicating a professional. But, though to varying degrees of financial success, we are all creative. Cultivating our innate creativity takes time and intentionality. Despite the world’s desperate need for human creativity, not all of us are in positions where our own creativity is on demand.
To confront this, we have to make a point of practicing creative pursuits, whether they are in demand or not. One of the major reasons why I started blogging was to force myself to create content. Returning to this place again and again has kept my creative pursuits at the forefront of my priorities. I’m glad that I write so much more than just emails now.
5) Seek the greats.
Traditionally, artists learned their craft by imitating their forebears and studying under the masters. We, too, need people in our lives to inspire us. We ache to be challenged– not by corporate deadlines and un-empathetic bosses– but by those who desire success for our sake. Seeking those individuals, whether they are friends we know or experts we only admire, can build our motivation to learn and improve.
Curiosity is awakened when we see something that fascinates us but that we cannot figure out immediately. I’ve always been drawn to those who point me towards discovery, and have found those relationships to be quite fruitful.
6) Invite others in.
Sometimes the best motivation is someone who enjoys your curiosity. For example, we love feeding people, and their enthusiasm only further fuels our desire to make better food. Our friends know that they can count on us for a good meal, so we push ourselves to try new recipes and techniques to share with them.
When someone else is invested in our curiosity, we become more willing to indulge it. They give us purpose beyond simply fulfilling our own goal. And ultimately, we want our curiosity to benefit others.
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Thanks Ashley!
Thank you Jenna! I love that you enjoyed your time in Charleston– I need to do more travel in the local area too.
Yes!! Me too! 🙂
Such lovely advice- curiosity is such an important spark to keep alive!
Love love love this! I traveled last weekend to Charleston and ever since I’ve returned, I have felt so energized and renewed. I totally agree that that international travel isn’t for everyone (I love it!), but at least traveling around your homestate or country will work wonders in your heart and mind! 🙂
I love to read and learn, so finding great articles is one way I like to stay curious too!
Brooke
pumps and push-ups
Yes! Yosemite requires some level of planning– you should definitely come back to see it!
Thanks girl! And I think we all get a little bored with work, which is why we need to keep ourselves curious in other ways!
Thank you Christina!! Yes, it certainly does!
Thank you Kaelene!
Love this, great advice! I am totally guilty at getting bored at my job. It’s always good to step back for a moment and see things differently
This is wonderful! I find that exploring new areas (even if it’s the town over from you!) to be a great way to stay curious 🙂
Such great ideas! Exploring new areas and meeting new people are always teaching me new things!
I would love to visit Yosemite! We’re only hours away, but have just never had the chance! Maybe we can squeeze it in somewhere in the next two months!? Maybe not, but we’ll always have the chance to come back!
Thanks Jo-Anne!! 🙂
Thank you Laura Jean! It’s so true– I had no time to read for fun in college, and I always said I’d read more for pleasure after I finished my degree. Still a struggle!
Thanks Ash!!
Thank you so much Emily!! And definitely, not everyone is in a position to just up and leave, nor does everyone want to. There’s a cost to every decision! Still, I think regardless of our lifestyle we can be curious.
And the photo– it’s Yosemite! My husband took it years ago 😉 If you haven’t been to Yosemite, I think you’d love it.
Thanks Heidi– and you too! 🙂
Yes yes! x
Thanks Marcella! So many people feel limited by the parameters of their jobs.
Thank you Cassie!! Yes, I’ve enjoyed things so much more when I share!
Ah thanks girl! And I love that quote– being filled with wonder is a great feeling.
Thank you so much Kiki!! That means a lot to me 🙂
You’re right, down time is required for enrichment activities!
Thanks! x
Thanks Colleen! I’m so glad you can be creative on your blog! 🙂
Thank you Rachel! And I think being visually observant is a great way to approach it.
Bloody great ideas just saying
Yes to all of these points! I was so surprised at how much I stopped reading after college. Once it wasn’t on the syllabus or carved into my learning, it was so easy to put on the back burner. I have to be much more intentional about staying curious and learning day to day than when I was in college.
These are great tips!
This is so, so good, Daisy. I never want to stop learning. I feel like reading constantly helps, but you’re right, it has to challenge us and be quality sometimes (if not all the time.) I want to travel and learn by seeing the world, too, but I think we can all agree that not everyone can just up and quit daily life and take off across the world for months. I’ll take what I can get at this point in my life, and hope to learn from these smaller and local experiences.
PS, where is that photo from (with the rocks and bridges) because I need to go there! ha!
I think we all need a creative outlet. The trick is finding the right one. So happy that you found yours in this blog Daisy:)
Wishes & Reality
Cheers to more exploring!
Wise words, girl! Love each and every one of these 🙂 Such good pointers for when your job is making you hate routine etc I’m all for finding positives in the day-to-day eveb if you have to try a little harder.
All of these!!!! So good. Inviting others in has been a lesson for me, but I’m so happy with it now that I have been practicing it more intentionally!
This is so good! It’s easy to get stuck in a rut in the busyness of work and relationships and regular life, and start letting time slip by. I heard a great talk at a work conference last year about keeping your creativity alive, and the speaker said “Do things each day that fill you with wonder.” Whether that’s reading good words or trying a new recipe or listening to a story, these things fuel our spirits!
I can’t tell you how many days a week I have complete writers block. Most of the time it takes someone like yourself, who thrives on writing about life and what we can do to make it better. I think the thing I love most about your blog is your hunger for knowledge and experiences. At least since I’ve been reading, there’s been no “crap” posts. (;
I think our curiosity, our inspiration and our inspirations really do come from our interactions with others. Keep writing the way you do and I can promise you are inspiring curiosity and inspiring the minds of your readers. (:
http://www.accordingtokiki.net
Some great ideas here! I think finding something that makes you happy separate from work and ‘obligations’ means you’ll have a natural curiosity about it. Hobbies aren’t always lifelong hobbies, you just get into an area of interest and learn all about it and are eager to find out more and deepen your knowledge…then you might move on and try something different, and have the same excitement and thirst for knowledge when you pick that up.
You do need down time to do that in though, so I guess it’s a balance thing with work too!
Away From The Blue
Yes! I agree with every point! x
I love this post! One of the reasons I started blogging was to have a creative outlet on the side of my office job where I didn’t get to be creative at all. I also agree that new experiences are important. Even if it’s just trying a new restaurant or park in your city, novelty is good for the brain!
COOCOO FOR COCO
Excellent, excellent advice. It’s important to not let the possibly monotony of adult routines to dull one’s desire to keep learning and growing! Lately I’ve been on a mission to be more visually observant of what goes on around me, instead of just letting things pass me by.