Is Curiosity The Exception Or The Norm? My #ONEWORD2018

“I wish I loved to read the way you love to read. It is so hard for me to get through a book.”

I had just finished sharing some information from a book I was reading, when a colleague of mine made this statement. The comment itself was mostly off-handed and the conversation moved on from there, but the words really hung on me. While it is true, I do like to read, what I really love to read is fiction. Especially realistic fiction, and if I am being completely honest, Young Adult Realistic Fiction is my absolute favorite genre.

Needless to say, I wasn’t quoting a YA fiction book during our meeting. I was quoting Renegade Leadership, which I picked up, because I was curious how best to prepare our school community for our shift to 1:1 (and because Brad Gustafson is a pretty swell guy).

So, this exchange got me thinking …

• When do we, as human beings, stop acting curious?
• How do we continue to learn, if we have stopped acting curious?
• Where does curiosity come from? Can I, as a leader, foster curiosity?
• What value does curiosity have in my world? In the world?
• Are some individuals not reading or exploring, because they are no longer curious?
• When faced with a problem or intrigue, is asking questions the exception or the norm?

A good deal of the choices I make are driven by my curiosity: the books I read, the blogs to which I subscribe, the conversations in which I engaged, and even the people I choose to interact with most regularly.

It has dawned on me that perhaps I have not been transparent about my curiosities and explorations, and this is why CURIOUS is my #oneword2018.

I will record one thing I am curious about each day.
I will have a face-to-face conversation each week related to one of my curiosities.
I will share a curiosity journey once a month.

What makes you curious? What do you do with your curiosities?