Curiosity Is a Superpower

What do you think of when you hear the word superpower? Flying? Super strength? Invisibility? Those are fun to imagine. But there is a real, actual superpower that every person is born with — and almost everyone underestimates it. That superpower is curiosity. Curiosity is the desire to know. The itch to find out. The voice inside you that says, but how does that work? and what happens if I try this? and I wonder why that is? It might not look like a superpower. But today you are going to see exactly why it is one of the most powerful forces in human history.

What Curious People Have Done

Curious people have changed the world over and over. Leonardo da Vinci was so curious about everything — birds, water, light, human bodies, machines — that he filled thousands of notebook pages with drawings and questions. He drew flying machines hundreds of years before anyone built a real airplane. He studied the human heart before anyone understood how blood circulates. His curiosity produced some of the most amazing art and ideas in history. Malala Yousafzai was curious about education and determined to understand why girls in her country were being kept out of school. She asked questions. She wrote. She spoke out. Her curiosity about injustice helped change laws and inspired millions of people around the world. Steve Irwin was so curious about animals that he fearlessly got close to creatures most people ran away from. His curiosity turned into a lifetime of teaching others to love and protect wildlife. Curiosity does not always look the same. But in every case, it drove someone to learn more, do more, and create more than they ever could have without it.

Here is what makes curiosity truly special: it never runs out. If you use strength, you get tired. If you run, you need rest. If you eat your food, it is gone. But if you use your curiosity — if you follow a question, explore it, find the answer — you do not end up with less curiosity. You end up with more. Every answer gives you new questions. Every discovery opens new doors. The more curious you are, the more interesting the world becomes. The world actually gets more fascinating the longer you look at it — not less. That is not true of most things in life. Curiosity is special that way.

How to Keep Curiosity Strong

Like any superpower, curiosity can get stronger with practice — or it can get weaker if you ignore it. Here is how to keep yours strong. Ask at least one question every day. Write it down. It does not matter if the question is tiny or enormous. The habit of asking is what matters. Follow the questions that excite you. If something makes you go wow or hm or wait, what? — chase that feeling. That is your curiosity talking. Listen to it. Do not be embarrassed by questions that seem silly. There are no silly questions. The only silly thing is stopping yourself from asking. Celebrate what you discover. When you find an answer, enjoy it! That moment of finding out is one of the best feelings a human being can have.