Have you gone mad yet?
4 Steps to Greatness
I don't believe curiosity killed the cat.
I think it was a saying made up by some person (or a group of people -doesn't really matter) who hated having someone else all up in their business. So, he scared them by saying that if you're curious you'll get hurt.
Where would we be without curiosity? The world may still be flat and fuck knows how we would’ve figured out outer space, let alone walk on the moon. Curiosity is what keeps us coming back for more.
It’s actually a mix between curiosity and passion. Put those two together and it’s a kinetic force that can change the world.
Amongst others, there’s one subject that I’ve been this curiously passionate about: therapy. Living with my boyfriend at the time, we were having all the usual stresses about getting to know each other and live with each other for the first time. Also, my Dad was remarrying and I was in a whirlwind of interpersonal minefields- so I jumped in.
Oh man, I couldn’t believe the feeling going to therapy gave me. It was elation, relief, and a general sense that even if things didn’t feel ok right then they would very soon be just fine. It also gave me a chance to try new ways of communicating out loud. Does this tactic work? What about that one? What would happen if I was actually honest about what I was thinking or how I was feeling? I was testing these theories out on my own life and was drawing my own conclusions.
I was bitten by the bug of curiosity! I was in awe that changing beliefs about my life was actually changing the course of my life. It was addictive to me in a really good way. I'd prepare being fully present before I came back home after work or met my Dad and his wife dinner. I'd make sure I was aware before walking into any given room and that anything that came out of my mouth would shape the way this particular conversation went.
It worked! The more I allowed myself to take in what my boyfriend was saying before answering the more I understood him and the more he felt understood, andmy day would be all the better for it.
I tried this out on my own mind too. I allowed myself to separate from my thoughts. Just like you sift through old rubbish to find a gem, I would sift through my thoughts like this. Most of my thoughts were trashy. They would dust and clutter my mind making it hard to focus on what separated the truth from illusion. So I'd practice. I'd practice filtering out any self-deprecating thoughts only to leave the facts and what I was excited about in the moment. I'd listen to my insecurities and treat them like a little child needing a good pep talk from mom and dad. I'd practice finding the gems of my mind and clearing the clutter.
I've been going to therapy for 9 years and counting. Five years ago I decided to study the same techniques that had mesmerized me for so many years before and become a life counselor. Why? Because I was curious and passionate to learn more of how we think, why we acquired the beliefs that we believe, and how releasing emotion and telling the truth can give you more freedom then you could ever dream of.
It took NASA about 9 years to figure out a space ship model that would successfully land on the moon. It took Michelangelo 4 years to paint the Sistine Chapel. It took Lin-Manuel Miranda a year to write the first song for Hamilton...and it took him another year to write the second.
The fact that we keep coming back to something we love is because we desire to make it better, because we desire to bebetter. This desire is part of who we essentially are.
Did you ever watch a baby? They are constantly curious about how to do everything. What goes in the their mouth and what doesn't. How about their awe about a bright color!? Or, what about a child's pride when learning how to tie their own shoes? Oh My Good God!
Just like any process, learning to walk or tie your own shoes doesn't happen right away. It takes time. It's a process. It's the physical experience of becoming a better version of your self fueled by curiosity and passion.
So, greatness is a combination of:
1. Curiosity
2. Passion
3. Persistence (verging on madness)
and
4. Time
We still have the spirit of these little children inside of us waiting to throw ourselves into learning the next thing, and the next thing that we are curious about. It's that curiosity, that passion, that verge of madness that created the greatness of this human world which we share with each other, and it all takes time.
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