Lead With Curiosity
By Tana M. Mann Easton, Lead Efficiency Engineer
On Netflix, there is an excellent cartoon called She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, which is a reboot of the classic 1980’s cartoon She-Ra: Princess of Power. One of my favorite characters in the reboot is Entrapta. Entrapta is a kind and brilliant inventor/scientist who is endlessly curious about everything she encounters. At one point in the series, Entrapta is sent to Beast Island, which is one of the most dangerous places in their world. When a rescue team finds Entrapta on the island, she is happy and thriving because she’s always so busy trying to ascertain the mechanics of how and why the dangers of the island are the way they are to have any time to actually fear the dangers. She leads with curiosity whenever she encounters something new.
Leading with curiosity has been a powerful directive in my own life. If someone cuts me off in traffic or says something nasty, if I lead with curiosity I wonder why they might have done that rather than immediately condemning them. So instead of projecting their negative energy back to them, I can end the loop and project positive.
If I’m in emotional or mental or physical pain, leading with curiosity can often lessen my discomfort. I’ll ask myself to describe the pain, which takes my brain away from worrying about the pain in addition to feeling the actual pain. When I lead with curiosity and simply describe the sensations in my body (I feel a fluttering feeling in my chest or a deep rumbling in my stomach or a sharp sting on my arm), the pain is more manageable.
Leading with curiosity has helped me in so many situations to waste less time in fear and anger. I value love and connection in my life, and leading with curiosity brings me to those values faster.
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Curiously Yours,
Focus to Evolve Team