Well this year is moving fast and asking for certainty we certainly don’t have. We’re living with constant noise, where everything seems to demand a reaction, an opinion, or a decision from us. We’re also living in a culture that rewards fast conclusions and strong positions, even when reality is complex and still unfolding.
However this year is starting for you -clear or uncertain- I wanted to offer something simple, and very useful for the times we’re in: Curiosity.
And I don’t mean curiosity as a personality trait or some form of abstract luxury you get to when life’s calm. I am talking of a way to live a fuller, wider life and to withstand what these times throw at us.
Certainty feels comforting because it promises control. The thing is once we’re certain, the question closes and with it, learning, listening, and adjustment.
Certainty narrows our focus and relies on shortcuts useful in situations of danger, but exhausting in everyday life.
Curiosity, on the other hand, is a mental state. Neuroscience shows that when we’re curious, the brain steps out of threat mode, which lets attention widen and flexibility return.
In everyday moments, curiosity can look like this: When you speak to someone, it’s the question you ask instead of rushing to a conclusion. When you are triggered, it’s the pause you take before reacting and when things feel stuck at work or in life, it’s the small experiment you allow yourself to make that teaches so much about what’s possible.
So before you decide or react, try widening the frame. It’s one of the most reliable moves I’ve learned from design thinking and social & behavioral change work I have done. Here’s how:
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Change the question to open possibility. So instead of asking What should I do?ask: What if this could look different? It loosens the grip of “there’s only one way” and creates room to explore.
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Change the lens to gain perspective. Ask: How would …. approach this?
(fill in with someone used to uncertainty like a first responder, a gardener or a jazz musician…). Borrowing another lens helps you step out of fear and into experience. -
Change the scale to make movement possible. Ask: What’s the smallest version of this I could try? This replaces heavy decisions with small, reversible steps and makes action possible again.
Together, these moves widen your inner space so you can respond with flexibility and agility instead of force.
As you know at Maktoub Studio, I don’t see destiny as being fixed. I see it as something shaped by how we meet our life through our mindset, intention and choices. Curiosity is one of the most powerful ways I know, to do that. Especially because it helps us stay with reality instead of hardening against it.
So if you want to set any intention for the months ahead, let it be this:
I will stay curious especially when certainty feels tempting.
Heartfuly,
Ratiba
