Curiosity and Aging: curiosity killed the cat, but it may save you
Curiosity is more important than intelligence
Einstein
The fact that you’re here, reading this blog, means that you probably already have a curious mind. You want to learn new information and you’re diving in to explore. Every advance in our human existence has come as the result of curiosity. Be it on a personal, or group level, wondering sparks a desire to explore and learn, that in turn leads to advances. As we age, the flame of new interest can begin to flicker and fade. My hope is that this discussion will provide a new spark for learning that will most definitely benefit your path to successful aging.
Curiosity involves an interest in seeking and learning new information in one or several areas; it can be “defined as the recognition, pursuit, and desire to explore novel, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous events, which initiates and facilitates learning” ( Kashdan 2018). There are many different recognized types of curiosity, but the most common are 1) social , 2)intellectual, and 3)perceptual ( Grossnickle 2016). Social involves meeting and learning about new people or groups. Intellectual is the most widely recognized type, as it pertains to learning new information. Perceptual revolves around the persuit of new sensory experiences.
Research has shown that as we age our curiosity can begin to decline. There is a “ significant negative association between age and intellectual curiosity” , that may be due to the fact that “ as future time becomes more limited with age, curiosity is less valued “ ( Chu 2021). Put another way, socioemotional selectivity theory states that “ as people age they perceive time as more limited so they become more selective as to how they spend their limited time resource” ( Carstensen 1995). If we’ve got less time on earth, we don’t want to waste it trying to learn things that may not be important. Additionally, knowledge accrued over a lifetime may make us think that we know it all already, thus making us less motivated to try something new. This can be a serious problem! Low curiosity has been linked to shortened life span. A study of curiosity and survival found that “ higher levels of state and trait curiosity lead to an increased survival rate over a 5 year” period ( Swan 1996). In other words, people with lower levels of curiosity died at a younger age. This shouldn’t surprise you if you take a moment to consider the benefits of having a curious mind.
Curiosity has been found to play “ an important role in maintaining cognitive function, mental health, and physical health in older adults “ (Sakai 2018). A sense of adventure in discovering what’s new, and novel can lead us to “lifelong learning “. Training the brain helps to maintain our memory and thought processes as well as reducing the risk of dementia. Curiosity is related to increased happiness. It is “ positively associated with life satisfaction, positive affect, and meaning of life” (Gallagher 2007). Continued learning makes us more adaptable and resilient as we grapple with the stresses of the new experiences of retirement, health problems, and relationship issues associated with aging. Social curiosity improves our social connections in order to maintain existing and grow new relationships. These relationships are vital in reducing the loneliness and depression associated with aging. So now that we’ve identified the problem, and the importance of addressing the issue, what can be done to help maintain or even grow our curiosity?
While we all seem to have varying levels of innate curiosity, there are steps we can take to increase our interest. Following are some of the best ideas that I’ve come across in my own reading.
Ask questions. Ask a lot of questions. Even dumb ones. Listen and think about the answers. You can learn from anybody if you take the time to ask and listen
Create empty time and space in your day. Fill the time letting your attention wander to new thoughts and ideas. Protect the time to cultivate your curiosity.
Keep a list of ideas, or issues that interest you. Research your most interesting points. Get in the weeds with it. Go down the rabbit hole.
Read or listen widely. Follow your interests.
Try something hard. Get uncomfortable. Learn how to adapt to the challenges.
Change your routine. Look at things from a fresh perspective. Experiment with your life to see what works better.
Examine your environment. Get outside. Go for a walk. Touch grass. What’s over the next hill?
Learn in enough depth to be able to teach someone else. Teaching requires a certain level of understanding and mastery.
Welcome curiosity during hard times. Learn a better way to deal with hard issues
Hopefully these ideas will serve as a jumping off point in your own exploration of the ways to grow.
Minimalism and Eudaimonia are the focus of previous posts in this blog. Both these ideas have strong connections to curiosity. By minimizing junk,both literally and mentally , bandwidth and time are created to focus on what’s more important. Spend the open space and attention on exploration. Eudaimonia focuses on the journey and living to one’s potential rather than a hedonic goal. Curiosity leads to confidence, sense of pride, self esteem, and life purpose which are all components of a virtuous life well lived. Many factors go into successful aging, and I hope that I’ve convinced you to add curiosity to the list of ideals to work towards.