Let your curiosity run Frank-wild!

Someone recently asked me what characteristic I most want to see in my kids (now five and three) as they become adults. After thinking about it for a bit, I answered “curiosity.”

Curiosity meets lots of different kinds of people.

Curiosity tries lots of different things.

Curiosity finds something interesting even in subjects it doesn’t find interesting.

Curiosity is motivated by a challenge, rather than being fearful of it.

Curiosity has a point of view.

Curiosity is open to change.

We are an innately curious breed: it’s how we’re able to learn so many things so quickly. It’s constant trial and error as our motor skills develop. And then the incessant “why why why?” as soon as we start to talk. Curiosity leads us, and it’s triggered in thousands of different ways because our minds are moving a thousand miles a minute.

As a mom, I often find myself lamenting the stuff that’s left behind – Frank’s superhero cape gathering dust in the corner while the new Burj Khalifa and Empire State Building legos shine brightly on the table; his guitar that’s been all but discarded, replaced by the basketball, baseball and puck; his 55 puzzles stacked in the closet as the globes, maps and solar systems proliferate – but I shouldn’t. At least not yet. None of these interests has been treated lightly; each was or is being interrogated with the utmost curiosity. None will disappear without him knowing every who, what, when, why and how there is to know.

So the time to lament isn’t now. It’s when an interest wanes and it isn’t replaced with something new. That might sound dramatic, but it happens. With age comes responsibility. Think about yourself as a kid and think about now. Responsibility – school, relationships, jobs, bills, children, you name it – competes with curiosity. Or at least with satisfying that curiosity in a meaningful way. Don’t let it!

Curiosity is what recently drew me into health coaching. I knew this carton of eggs cost much less than the others. But why? I knew obesity rates had risen exponentially in the last decade. But why? I knew more and more children being diagnosed with ADD and ADHD. But why? I could have easily let that curiosity lie dormant, as I’ve done many times in the past several years. But instead, I took a page from Frank’s book, and let my curiosity run wild. The result? My family is healthier, I’ve turned judgments into empathy for those who suffer from weight and health issues; I’ve eschewed some approaches to health and wholly embraced others I’d previously dismissed. And I’m sharing my knowledge with whomever gives me the opportunity. Curiosity helped me create a new chapter in my life that I’m absolutely loving.

And I have my five year old to thank for inspiring me!

If you let your curiosity run Frank-wild, where might it take you?