When I resigned from my job over a year ago, one thing that struck me was how few people were curious about my process, my learning, my sense of conviction that led to my resignation.

It was a rare person who asked me a question that stemmed from a desire to understand me. What have you been reading? What was your process in making this decision? Who did you consult? Why now, what's been going on in your life? Can you start at the beginning and tell me what happened? Tell me more ...

Instead, it seemed, once I had made a decision that didn't fit the status quo, doors just closed. The questions I was asked were less curious and more, well ... critical. What were you thinking? At least, that's how it felt to me.

This is not rare, unfortunately. We have become - all of us - incredibly incurious.

We have opinions. You have opinions. They have opinions. We all state our opinions. We all retreat to our opinion enclaves.

Where are the question askers?

The listeners?

The "tell me more" people?

What might happen to us all if we approached each day, each person, each circumstance - even the hard ones - with curiosity?

"Try to be surprised by something every day. It could be something you see, hear, or read about.

Stop to look at the unusual car parked at the curb, taste the new item on the cafeteria menu, actually listen to your colleague at the office.

How is this different from other similar cars, dishes or conversations?

What is its essence?

Don't assume that you already know what these things are all about, or that even if you knew them, they wouldn't matter anyway.

Experience this one thing for what it is, not what you think it is.

Be open to what the world is telling you. Life is nothing more than a stream of experiences — the more widely and deeply you swim in it, the richer your life will be."

(Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)

I wonder if we practiced being curious in our everyday lives, if that curiosity might bleed over into our life with other people?

You think differently than me? How wonderful!! Tell me more ...