Feeling Stuck? The Power of Intellectual Curiosity

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

So much is shoved down our throats about having a positive mindset, and how being positive will attract positive things to you. This may be true, but I also want to shed light on the curious mindset, especially when you are feeling stuck.

“Stuck” I think is something women all experience at some point in their careers--or even personally. I know for me, it can feel a lot like cynicism, boredom, or even jaded after seeing and experiencing what feels like the same thing over and over again. 

If you can take a minute to be curious today, it can shift your thought pattern. It’s a neutral exercise, and can help break the pattern of negative thoughts in your head. 

If you don’t know where to start, think about work:

• If you sell a product, do you know the ins and outs of how it works? 
• If you are a coder, do you know the market or who your end product is going to? 
• If you are customer-facing, do you know what is going on behind the scenes? 

These are just some places to start: there’s as many jobs as there are people. What I’m trying to do is get you to think outside your desk or laptop, and start asking questions about what is around you. This could build into a new interest or passion for something you didn’t know you had. Being curious leads us to rapid expansion, to change, to begin new journeys. If that’s not the opposite of stuck, I don’t know what is. 

One final thought around curiosity: being curious about yourself. It can be easy to settle into the cycle of your life, but why are you doing things this way? Why do you think that way? And is it useful? If it’s not, I encourage you to Marie-Kondo it away and get unstuck.