I suppose I should be asking you this question instead. Why are you reading this? What made you click this link and want to read this random blog post? You probably already know why people read blogs. Well, I’ll let you in on the secret anyway. The reason so many people find themselves reading blogs is ….Curiosity.
If you are part of the 30% who stayed to read this after I just gave away the answer then your reasons are a bit more complex. Even, you might not know why you are reading this. Perhaps you are just bored.
If you are part of the 10% who stayed reading this blog after I just flat out said you are bored and by doing so implied you have nothing better to do, then you are most likely still in that “curious” category, curious if this blog is going to get anywhere, curious what percent you will be a part of next.
So how about we talk about Curiosity instead. I mean, who really knows why people read blogs.
Curiosity for the most part, actively wastes our time. It takes us out of focus to learn about topics we will have no use for, to read about people we have no intentions of ever meeting, and to explore the answers to questions which serve no real benefit to us in knowing. From an evolutionary perspective, shouldn’t we have evolved into a people that are, by now, much more focused? And, speaking of focus, I wonder – did curiosity ever really kill a cat?
So I actively wasted my time to figure out the answers to these questions.
It turns out that the roots of our curiosity can be traced back to a trait called “neoteny” which means- remaining young. Put simply, we are curious because we retain more childlike characteristics than other mammals. This “extended childhood” has given us our capacity to explore and to learn. Without that which distracted us and pushed us out of focus, as a species, we would have remained stuck in a cave focusing on our only real need: to find food. Instead, we have evolved to explore, to try new things out, to always question. The times we waste, so to speak, sometimes turn out to be the most valuable of time spent.
This doesn’t mean the next time you are in a creative rut, you have to run out and get a kid’s meal in McDonalds to connect with your inner child. Instead, Be Playful. It’s ok to waste some time. After all, it’s only really a detour if your destination remains the same.