"The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life." -Confucius

In our culture, we are generally "shushed" and told to "mind your business" when it comes to the concept of curiosity. We are constantly driven by the anxiety and fear that we will say the wrong thing and people will judge us, that we will come off rude and blunt, and that some questions just aren't necessary to know the answer to. After all, "Curiosity killed the cat," right? Wrong. We are humans, not cats, and we are a lot better at the whole intelligence and understanding thing when it comes to being reasonable and practical when it comes to the concept of curiosity. Plus, that cat clearly had it coming considering he died after having nine lives to get a redo...

I used to absolutely hate asking questions to strangers, asking questions in class, and just questioning people and ideas in general. However, one day when I was on Tumblr, I came across a thread about curiosity and it clicked. I had the realization of how ridiculous it is to fear such simple human interactions and how much I was holding myself back from life just because I might sound "stupid." This is solely because of this negative attitude towards curiosity in our culture that has we have accepted. There is such an abundance of wonder and unanswered questions in this world: so why wonder? It's such a waste to repress your curiosity and constantly live life with unanswered questions.

So what exactly do you really gain out of being a more curious individual? Here are a couple of important reasons:

You'll gain more relationships.

How do relationships start? By talking and asking questions about each other. Imagine theres a person you sit next to every class. You come in everyday and have the same boring conversations: "Hey, whats up?" "Not much just a long day." End of conversation. But, what if you elaborated beyond those meaningless and simple conversations. Like my wise Granny has always told me: "Ask people questions about themselves. People love talking about themselves" (I wish I listened to this the first time she told me). What if you asked: "Why are you having a bad day? Do you wanna talk about it? Do you need anything?" That person might have really need someone to talk to and you might have been the only one who's asked them about or helped them out. You might ask them one simple question and you could have a really great conversation and years later it's your wedding day and she's one of your bridesmaids. If it wasn't for that single ounce of curiosity you would have never established that relationship. Obviously, you'll have some hits and misses and you won't become best friends or mesh with everyone you talk to and question, but I guarantee you will establish so many more relationships than you would without utilizing your curiosity.

You'll get smarter.

What if Aristotle, Socrates, and all the great Greek philosophers never asked questions? We would have none of the information, theories, and ideas that are still so important and relevant to everything we learn about and know today. These were some of the smartest men of their time. Why were they so smart? While they could of had an already existing abundance of intelligence, they were curious people. The mind is a muscle and the mental exercise caused by curiosity makes your brain stronger every time it is practiced. Though you might not become the next Aristotle, you will be far more intelligent than you would without curiosity. So, get curious and watch yourself becoming smarter and smarter.

I'm not saying that you will wake up one day and immediately start being comfortable with being curious. It's not easy. It took me a long time to become comfortable with being curious. Mastering the art of curiosity takes lots of practice, pushing yourself, and situations that you may feel really uncomfortable in. Once curiosity comes naturally, it will truly change and enhance your quality of life.