#29 What are you Curious about?
In this episode, Arnold Beekes asks a simple question: what are you curious about? He points out that most of us were taught the opposite, with “curiosity killed the cat” as the classic example, and that school often rewards memorizing over real learning. If you were interested in pigeons, trees or the language of dolphins, you were told it was a waste of time. Arnold says curiosity is one of the most important parts of a healthy brain, a tool, a method and a way of being. Because many of us suppress curiosity the same way we suppress emotions, he asks you to take your time, keep your eyes, ears and nose open over the next few days, and notice what pulls your attention, like the tree flowering in the middle of winter that he can see right now and the questions it raises. The quote for this episode is “Most people only listen to what they want to hear.” Arnold links it to echo chambers and confirmation bias, where we surround ourselves with people and media that already agree with us. You learn far more from people who see things differently, and that doesn’t mean changing your mind every second, it means being comfortable saying “I don’t know for sure.” Once you have different points of view, you can form your own opinion, and the world needs your uniqueness.
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Ep 29 Between the Ears Q&Q
Welcome, I'm Arnold Bekus and this is the question and quote version of the Between the Ears podcast. The goal is to enable you to unleash and use your uniqueness. Question, what are you curious about? As a child most of us have been taught not to be curious.
What's the saying? Curiosity killed the cat. So it's not the opposite of that it is stimulated to be curious. No, it's the opposite.
It's like they don't want you to be curious, they only want you to learn what you're taught to learn. Well, it's not learning, it's basically memorizing. And if you're interested in pigeons or you're interested in in beautiful trees, if you're interested in the language of dolphins, well that's not taught at school or in a lot of other places and people say it's a waste of your time and you shouldn't be curious about it.
Well, it's rather the opposite. Being curious is one of the main important things of a healthy brain and it's a tool, it's a method, it's a way of being. Being curious is extremely healthy for your brain.
So please think about this question and take your time because we are so used to suppressing our curiosity, kind of in the same way as suppressing our emotions, that we don't know it. But take your time and have your eyes and ears and nose open during the day, during the next couple of days and just think. I would like to know why these flowers.
I'm right now looking at the tree which has purple pink like flowers and it's winter over here and it's blossoming and I'm like what's the name of the tree? Why is it flowering in the winter? So just look at your environment and be curious again. It's okay, well not okay, it's super to be curious. So what are you curious about? Quote, most people only listen to what they want to hear.
Most people only listen to what they want to hear. People are spending a lot of time in what they call echo chambers, like they talk with people who have the same opinion as them or the same background. They watch the same media where you already know that what they're going to say, you're going to agree with it.
It's like you only want, well it's confirmation bias. Confirmation bias like means that you want to be confirmed that what you are thinking is correct and that other people are thinking in the same way. So that is why most people only listen to what they want to hear.
That in itself is very limiting because I think you learn more from people with different points of view or people who disagree with you and it doesn't mean that you should change your mind on every second. No, it means that you should be okay with the fact like I don't know. I don't know for sure how this works.
I don't know whether this person is right or wrong. So stop listening to people who only confirm what you think you already know. We have to be much more comfortable with not knowing and just have different points of view and once you have different points of view you can form your own opinion and remember we need your uniqueness.
Be a better maker for yourself, for others, for the world.
Explorer, Generalist, Innovator, and Trainer/Coach
Arnold Beekes is an explorer, generalist, innovator, and trainer/coach, and the founder of Arnold Beekes Creations and the Brain Athletes community. He spent his first 20 years working in technology and organisational leadership, managing teams ranging from 10 people up to 6,000 on a global scale, before dedicating the next 20 years to studying psychology, personal leadership, brain health, sports, and spirituality.
Arnold has been coaching in some form for over 50 years, starting as the youngest certified field hockey coach in the Netherlands at just 17. Having lived in five different countries, he draws on his own wide-ranging experience to help people build a better life "between the ears," one insight at a time.
Today, through Brain Athletes and his podcast, Between The Ears, Arnold helps mid-life professionals and young leaders break free from the invisible straitjackets holding them back, so they can reach their full potential and contribute to what he calls a Better World for All.
