Our Framework
Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it also may have saved the world.
“Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” –Albert Einstein
Curiosity helps us learn. It also helps us feel good.
“There’s this basic circuit in the brain that energizes people to go out and get things that are intrinsically rewarding,” Charan Ranganath, a psychologist at the University of California, explains. This circuit lights up when we get money, or candy. It also lights up when we’re curious.
When the circuit is activated, our brains release a chemical called dopamine, which gives us a high. “The dopamine also seems to play a role in enhancing the connections between cells that are involved in learning.”
Learning is a fundamental part of being human and living fully. Curiosity is a fundamental part of learning. It can also help us connect with ourselves and our kids (in the easier times and the more difficult ones).
Check out this video for a bit more information about how curiosity can impact our experience of ourselves and our relationships with other people.
Let’s Do This Thing Together
Creative Expression: An Exercise in Curiosity
Hey there, wonderful parent and person in your own right.
Let’s practice feeling curious.
We invite you to try out the following (or whatever part(s) resonate with you):
- Spend 2 minutes choosing 3 things from the room you’re in. It can be anything you want. If it catches your attention or makes you smile, it might be a good choice for this exercise.
- Check out the 3 things you chose more closely. What do you notice about each object? What do you notice about how it looks? What do you notice about how it sounds? (If it’s safe to do so, try tapping it with your fingernail.) If it’s safe to touch the object, what do you notice about how it feels?
- Choose 1 of the objects and smell it (if it’s safe to do so). Wait. Smell it? Yep, smell it. What do you notice about how it smells? Does it even have a smell?
- Look up how smell works and check out an answer that appeals to you. (We particularly like “How scent, emotion, and memory are intertwined — and exploited” from the Feb 27, 2020 edition of The Harvard Gazette.)
- Think of a smell that you enjoyed when you were a kid. Do you have a memory associated with that smell that makes you smile?
- Think of a smell that you enjoy now. Do you have a memory associated with this smell that makes you smile?
- Do you have access to the smell that you like now? If so, take a whiff. Enjoy!
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