One of my favorite books growing up was “Curious George Goes to the Hospital.” George is a monkey who lives in America with “the man in the yellow hat.” George lives more as a child than a monkey, which along with George’s curiosity gets him in all sorts of trouble. In this case, it’s eating a jigsaw puzzle piece which leads to a trip to the hospital (more chaos ensues).
George, great leaders, people of faith and creatives have something in common – curiosity. Curiosity manifests itself in multiple ways — sometimes chaos (see Curious George), but many times in great advances in all ways of life. Curiosity germinates in the form of questions. Here are just a few of the questions curiosity asks:
- Why do I do it like this (and others do it differently)?
- How can I do this better?
- What would happen if…?
- What am I missing?
One of my good friends, Julia Woods, is a life coach. Here is the phrase I’ve heard from her over and over when encountering some obstacle in life: ”Get curious.” Instead of turning to some harmful action, word or thought, get curious.
As a leader are you curious? Are you asking yourself and others these questions?
As a follower of Jesus are you curious about God? Do you ask yourself and others these questions?
Better Together
If curiosity is where creativity, leadership and faith converge. Finding the answers may be where the three diverge. Not always but many times creativity is a solo effort. Leadership and faith demands cooperation with others. It means answering our questions within the context of a group.
“None of us is smart as all of us”
-Ken Blanchard
You are smart. Your ability to find answers to difficult questions is incredible. It’s not nearly as amazing as you finding those questions with a group of people you trust.
Keep being curious as a creative, leader and person of faith. Keep searching for answers with others.
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