At What Age Did You Lose Your Curiosity?

At what point did we lose our curiosity?

Was it in school, with expectations geared toward right answers to try to satisfy an audience of one in exchange for a better grade?

Or possibly the first (or 2nd, or 3rd) time we heard, “that’s a dumb question” as a form of criticism? Or maybe that sinking sensation as we get older that we should know all this stuff by now?

The world we live in today is designed for the curious; a world where “I dunno” in some form turns into – if not ignition of curiosity – an invitation for dynamic conversation and deliberate collaboration.

In a recent conversation with the always-creating-curiosity-with-questions Mike Wagner, we talked about folks getting lost (the fear of not knowing) and folks losing it (the excitement of not knowing). Some of the questions shared and stuck in my noodle:

Does Compliance Kill Curiosity? – Is our factory-type workplace (yes, it still exists all over, even in the white collar arena) and all the regulations kill curiosity?

Does Competition Compel Curiosity? – Are we not puzzle-solvers and discovery-bent? Even if not in competition with others (and why not if we improve ourselves?), can self-improvement be a form of inner competition? And doesn’t such a spirit compel curiosity?

Does Curiosity ever really get lost, or just pushed aside by vanity? A dangerous thing, especially for leadership, is the pressure of proving we have attained knowledge.

Shouldn’t we foster and nurture curiosity in others? Build up and flex our own curiosity muscles? I dunno.

And sometimes … “I Dunno” can be a real cool hand.