This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #81 Eat a Raw Egg.
“Some people say the only way to rid yourself of temptation is to yield to it” (After the Sunset). These were the words spoken by Pierce Brosnan’s character in After the Sunset. I have always enjoyed this quote because it is the way I like to live my life. In fact, I have repeated this quote to many people over the years when it is relevant to the situation and it is usually met with a pondering gaze.
Whenever my mind grabs hold of an idea I begin to think it through. I think of the pros and con and start to visualise scenarios and how things may pan out. If the pros outweigh the cons then I will begin to plan how I am going continue with the idea. If the cons vastly outweigh pros then I usually drop the idea and cease thinking about it. However, when the cons slightly outweigh the pros or the two are balanced, it is harder to cease thinking about the idea. This is where curiosity begins to play a part.
Curiosity is the force the guides us when logic and reason cannot provide us with a definitive answer. Working hand-in-hand with intuition, curiosity can help drive someone to accomplish extraordinary things. Entrepreneurs and invertors throughout history have always asked themselves whether they could make something smaller, bigger, faster, cooler or more efficient. That is why we have the amazing products we have today, such as smartphones.
However, curiosity is a double-edged sword and sometimes it leads you into situations that do not end in your favour. One night while I was attending university I took part in a chicken wing eating competition at one of the local bars. I was curious whether I could handle the hottest wings they offered. In the end I only tried the second hottest wings but that was enough for me. By the time I got back to my residence the hot sauce had begun to wreak havoc on my guts and I barely slept that night. This taught me that pushing my limits with spicy food simply isn’t worth it.
Curiosity will lead you into bad situations and it will lead you into good situations. You will always learn something from the bad situations and the good ones will reinforce the desire to be curious. Don’t let the bad situations discourage you. It is important to try and fail to improve yourself. If you always err on the side of caution and don’t give into your curiosities, you may never fail, but you may never learn.
Although curiosity has steered me wrong with eating the raw egg and the chicken wing eating competition, it has helped me accomplish many great things in my life, such as starting this website. I will always give into my curiosities because I cannot live without knowing what something would be like once the opportunity has presented itself. The day I stop giving into my curiosities is the day I stop living. This item was not just about accomplishing a simple goal; it was about maintaining a way of life.
Do you give into your curiosities? Has it steered you in the right or wrong direct? Let me know in the comments below.
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Dave has been on a mission, since 2010, to cross off the 100 items on his bucket list. The stories of his adventures are complimented by life lessons learned along the way and his travel tips are unique to his experiences.
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