Curiosity didn't kill the cat.. it saved it

Being curious is one of the most effective ways for us to engage with other human beings as well as the world....

Curiosity opens up a world of opportunities, it allows us to explore something physical or intellectual in new and novel ways.. and discover new, interesting and innovative ways of doing things.

Curiosity can engage all or any one of our senses...

Curiosity allows us to listen to another person without judging them and to consider another point of view... it allows us to use our ears twice as much as our mouths and therefore to learn more about the world we are in than we already know about it...

Without curiosity our world would be a very dull place....

And yet..... we rarely adopt a stance of curiosity.. preferring to share with the world our existing knowledge... our existing views... use our existing familiar perimeter... scary.... but not quite so scary as not letting our children explore the world with curiosity....

To find and discover on their own... in the dirt and mud... in trees and in gardens.... in questions and in doing..... allowing them to develop new and innovative ways of doing things

So the challenge this time is to adopt a stance of curiosity.... to say to someone... "that sounds interesting... tell me about it..." or "really, how did that happen......?" or to be curious enough about something to see how it works....

And for those of us who are growing a new generation of humans... allow them to be curious this week... let them explore something unaided.... let them ask questions without being told to be quiet..... let them find a new way of doing something routine... you know wearing your knickers on your head will not end the world!!!!

Curiosity is one of the most important skills we possess... let's practice it and encourage our children to learn using it... let me know how you and they get on...

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Challenging routines

All of us have them.... but how often do we challenge their usefulness? Routines allow us to do things quickly and efficiently, make us feel comfortable with our environment and existence and generally take us through life...... but what happens when a routine becomes a barrier to change?? We allow our habits and routines to prevent us from making a different choice, from trying something new, from changing, from losing weight, from exercising more, from...... (fill in your own blank here). So as Spring approaches (Autumn in the Northern hemisphere) it is time to clean out those habits- or at least challenge them... think through your routine and decide which bits are helpful and which are not.... I will be swapping my habitual pre work coffee in front of the computer for 10 mins of meditation. Although the coffee is lovely I don't need that extra 10 mins in front of the computer- the jobs will still get done, and I don't seem to be able to find the time to meditat...

It's a dog's life....

While I was watching this rather cute woofter enjoying basking in the winter sun I got to thinking a little.... What is my equivalent of 'a dog's life.' What is the ultimate simple pleasure and enjoyment????? Making the first fresh steps in snow (not that I get to do that very often anymore!!) The smell of coffee first thing in the morning...? Reading the paper in the middle of the day with a cup of tea....? Fresh brewed tea using leaves and a proper teapot!!? Hearing the rain on the roof...? Walking in the early morning while the sun is coming up???? Anyway.... what is your simple pleasure.... let me know.... I would like to know what simple things we can do every day and acknowledge them as a precious moment.... Maybe with enough of them we can fill a whole week with pleasure...

What 10 things do you do well?

We are generally very good at knowing what we need to do better but very very bad at being able to say we do something well.. "I should do more exercise." "I could communicate more." "I need to get better at time management." "I should work on my presentation skills." "I need/ should...... (add your own in here!!!) It is time to put a different perspective on it. After all you didn't get to the ripe old age of (add here whatever age you feel like being), without managing to do some things well.... the tricky part is being able to remember what they are. So grab that coffee, find somewhere quiet and write down/think of 10 things you do well.... just 10..... Oh and fight the temptation to be glib..... so..... 'I am good at being on facebook' doesn't count.... but... 'I am good at keeping in touch with people' does!!! The reality is that remembering and stating what we are good at is much harder than it sound...

From clutter to clarity

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