Chasing Curiosity rather than Success

We often learn best when we allow ourselves to explore and experiment, focusing on the process rather than the result. Yet, we overly fixate on successful outcomes and optimize for peak performance. We obsess over success but shy away from failure.

When school, work, and society at large measures our abilities by a punishing pass or fail rubric, it can be challenging not to agree with these heuristics. However, if we ground our learning in curiosity, then perhaps we can overcome these arbitrary standards and rekindle the joy that comes from discovery.

As Conan O‘Brien aptly said, our greatest liability is our need to succeed or live up to an expectation.