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Tag: personal growth

What keeps you going? (4 ways to spark curiosity)

I’ve been asked what keeps me motivated. The question echoes when I pick up a book, stop at a piece of art, choose a film, or marvel at a friend’s project. What drives passion and fuels excitement? Curiosity.

What keeps you going?

I understand when life becomes disenchanting and hard, curiosity isn’t a natural tendency. The ability to become and remain curious is something like a well; a source that gives back with the right attention. Here are four ways you can spark your own curiosity:

Prepare yourself

Curiosity, like creativity, requires space and intention. You have to invite curiosity into your life. It starts with awareness and depends on your ability to observe not only the world around you, but yourself.

Get active

Curiosity requires participation. When you become curious, you no longer passively gaze at photographs or mindlessly consume shows. Curious individuals wonder. They wonder why certain topics are triggers and think of questions to ask creators.

Lose your pride

Curiosity demands that you set aside “expertness” and search for that which you do not know. You might feel silly or out of place, but your questions will direct you to new territories of understanding.

Aim for overexposure

Search for a variety of sources: Books, people, professionals, amateurs, stories, news, programs, Google, teachers, friends, art, songs, podcasts. The more sources you confront, the richer your experiences become.

How do you feed your curiosity? Tweet me @redheadlefthand.

Want more? 7 ways to raise your standards today

“You dont get what you want, you get what you tolerate.”

Tonya Leigh

Tonya Leigh has great perspective on living life artfully and well. She encourages her clients to establish a Red Velvet Rope policy — the idea that you treat your life like a carefully cultivated VIP nightclub. Imagine a strict dress code, exclusive invites, and the best party around.

Sometimes, without even realizing it, we lower our standards. The way we speak to ourselves. How we treat ourselves. What we think of our own accomplishments.

Our minds determine what we are capable of.

When you raise the bar on your own life, you raise your standards. When your standards are lifted, your life will automatically experience an upgrade. Here are 7 ways you can raise your standards today:

1. Upgrade what you put into your mind. The books you read, the podcasts you listen to, the magazines you consume, the accounts you follow.

2. Change your conversations. Notice when negative outweighs the positive. Focus on creation, not destruction.

3. Invest in yourself. Sign up for a class, set a goal you hope to accomplish by the end of the month, schedule time to hit the gym, find a life coach.

4. Stop worrying. Anxiety chases dreams. Make a list of your worries, then set it aside. Sure, some fear is justified and real, but worrying won’t help you level up.

5. Edit your relationships. Minimize time spent with gossips and energy vampires. Find like-minded dreamers who encourage each other to succeed.

6. Expect more. Expect more from yourself and those close to you. You’ll love the results.

7. Rewrite definitions. So much of the way we see the world and ourselves comes down to definition. Those definitions can be changed. Tony Robbins says most people simply give up, stop trying, and accept “That’s just the way it is.” It doesn’t have to be this way.

Raising your standards isn’t about making money or becoming famous. This is about mindset.

Expect more. You’re worth it.