Author’s note: So, I’ve decided to start posting pages from my book. I’m simply no good at holding onto things.
When there are enough of these pages, I’ll gather them up and offer them as a whole, complete, of course, with pictures and whatnot. I hope you enjoy it.
At least a time or two, I’m guessing, you’ve been asked to please be serious. It was probably when you seemed a little too excited about a dream or an idea that someone else found far too silly to even contemplate.
“Oh, grow up,” they may have said, which is kind of ironic when you consider the fact that people who say such things have often stopped growing themselves. They’re far too serious for things like growth.
Their big focus is stability and security. They like things to stay the same. They like life to be predictable. And they’re the last people on earth you should ever consult if you want a life that has an ounce of zest.
Those Who Have Answers Don’t Always Like Questions
The serious folks, you see, love answers, the kind you might find written in plain, black letters on the pages of a seriously hefty instruction manual or etched on the surface of a set of stone tablets. Answers? They adore them; it’s the questions they hate.
Questions shake things up. Questions put stability and security in serious jeopardy. They have a tendency to tear the pages out of instruction manuals and have the power to hold stone tablets high above their heads and send them crashing to the ground, breaking old answers into a thousand new questions. Deep down, the serious folks know this and, to be honest, it scares the daylights out of them, which is why they’d like it very much if you’d just “grow up”, shut up, and please be serious.
But good solutions and great creations begin as questions, and when first asked, they always seem silly to those who have all the answers.
So, if you want a more creative life, one that has its share of up and downs but also pleasant surprises, then the best thing you can do is to start asking questions, even if they seem silly.
This is why, instead of telling you to please be serious, I’m asking you to please be curious. Your dreams may depend on it.
Next in the Series: You Don’t Know What You Think You Know
Here’s a Question for You
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I like this, Ken.
Some people who know a lot unfortunately develop big egos. Like you said, they often don’t like questions. Knowledge throughout history has always been discovered because of asking questions and curiosity.
Staying curious and asking questions is right on target for me on how to stay creative and alive.
Great post, Ken — I’m prioritizing curiousity these days…I’ve spent waaaay too much time being serious and it burned me out! Curiousity is energizing. I look forward to reading more of your book.
Oh, I think this is my favorite post of yours so far… and that’s saying a lot! Can’t wait to see what else you’ve been writing for your book!
For me, curiosity is the gateway into love. One of the things that shuts us off from each other is when we’re doing the whole judgmental things where we think we’ve got all the answers. Curiosity takes you out of that and into real listening and an open heart. It’s just SO important.
And I especially loved this bit:
“Oh, grow up,” they may have said, which is kind of ironic when you consider the fact that people who say such things have often stopped growing themselves.”
I’ve never thought about it that way, and now you say it like that, it’s hilarious!
Cath
Great post! I grew up being told to be serious and so I was extremely serious for most of my adult life. Fortunately my inner child is at last beginning to exercise her curiosity about things and shake up the status quo. The serious people in my life are not digging it very much, but at least I feel more alive now!