The Practice of Curiosity: Keeping the Door Open

🌱 The Practice of Curiosity: Keeping the Door Open

What if one of the greatest obstacles to growth isn't a lack of knowledge, ability, or opportunity?

What if it's the assumption that we already know the whole story?

In this episode of The Growth Practice, Ruth explores how curiosity can help us move forward when we feel stuck, strengthen our relationships, and navigate uncertainty with greater openness and flexibility. Through personal reflection, psychological insight, and practical application, she examines why our minds are quick to jump to conclusions and how curiosity can create space for learning, understanding, and growth.

Together, we'll explore how curiosity transforms "I can't" into "What can I learn?", why assumptions often create distance in our relationships, and how staying open to possibility can help us move forward even when we don't have all the answers.

Because maybe growth isn't about having the right answers.

Maybe the real practice is learning how to keep the door open long enough to discover what's possible.

🌱 IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL EXPLORE:

✨ How curiosity helps us move forward when we feel stuck

✨ The connection between curiosity and a growth mindset

✨ Why focusing on learning can be more powerful than focusing on limitations

✨ How our minds create stories when information is missing

✨ The psychology behind the Fundamental Attribution Error

✨ Why curiosity creates understanding while assumptions create distance

✨ What psychological flexibility is and how it helps us navigate uncertainty

✨ The importance of staying open to new information, perspectives, and possibilities

✨ Why we don't need to have all the answers before taking the next step

✨ This week's Growth Practice: The Open Door Practice

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We are capable. Let's grow. 🌱

DISCLAIMER

This podcast is for educational and inspirational purposes only and is not intended as medical, mental health, or professional advice. The content reflects personal experiences and perspectives. Please consult a qualified professional for guidance related to your individual situation.

REFERENCES

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House.

Ross, L. (1977). The intuitive psychologist and his shortcomings: Distortions in the attribution process. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 10, pp. 173–220). Academic Press.

Kashdan, T. B., & Rottenberg, J. (2010). Psychological flexibility as a fundamental aspect of health. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(7), 865–878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.03.001

 🐾 A quick note: You may hear a few household sounds in the background of this episode. One of the joys of independent podcasting is that sometimes growth happens alongside barking dogs and clanging dishes. Thanks for being here anyway.  😊❤️

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Your support helps this space grow. Every listen and share truly matters.
Thank you for practicing growth with me.  💛🌿 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Hello, achievers. Welcome back to the growth practice, a space where capable minds come together. I'm Ruth, your host, and I'm so glad you're here. If you're joining us for the first time, welcome. And if you've been practicing growth alongside me for a while now, thank you for being here. Before we dive in, I want to take a moment to thank you for being a part of this community. If this podcast has supported you in any way, I'd love for you to stay connected. You can follow or subscribe wherever you're listening, and if today's episode resonates with you, consider sharing it with someone who might need it too. Thank you for practicing growth with me. In this episode, I want to share a simple tool that's helped me move forward, especially during those times when life feels messy and confusing and just plain hard. Maybe you've had days when nothing goes as planned, days when you're staring at a crossroads, unsure which way to turn. I've had plenty of those moments myself, and there's one thing that has helped me move forward in those moments. Curiosity. Curiosity nudged me to learn new skills when I felt unsure about what to do next. It helped me understand people better, even when it would have been easier to judge, assume, or jump to conclusions. And it carried me through those in-between seasons when I didn't have all the answers and was simply trying to figure things out one step at a time. Truth be told, curiosity has saved me more times than I can count. Not because it solved my problems overnight or magically provided all the answers, but because it kept me from getting stuck in stories that weren't necessarily true. Stories about what other people meant, stories about what I was capable of, stories about how things would turn out. Curiosity created space. Space to learn, space to understand, space to grow. And perhaps most importantly, space to remain open to possibilities I couldn't yet see. So today I want to explore what I've come to think of as one of the most underrated tools for personal growth. The practice of curiosity. Because sometimes curiosity doesn't just help us find answers, sometimes it saves us from the wrong ones. So let's kick things off with something we can probably all relate to. Those moments when life feels like it's at a standstill. Curiosity is what helps us break out of that rut. At some point, we've all found ourselves wanting something we didn't yet know how to achieve. Maybe that's a new job, a promotion, a healthier lifestyle, a degree, a business, a relationship, or simply a different version of ourselves. And when we're standing at the beginning of something unfamiliar, it's easy to focus on everything we don't know. But curiosity asks a different question. Instead of asking, can I do this? Curiosity asks, what would I need to learn? And that question changes everything. Because the moment we become curious, we stop focusing on our limitations and start looking for possibilities. We stop saying I can't. And we start asking, what skills would help me get there? Who has already done this? What resources are available to me? What's one small step I can take today? There's even science to back this up. Psychologist Carol Dweck's research on growth mindset shows that people who believe they can grow and learn, no matter where they start, are more likely to stick with challenges and push through setbacks. And honestly, curiosity is often the spark that gets that mindset going. It reminds us that not knowing isn't the end of the road. It's actually where the journey begins. Every skill you've ever developed was once something you didn't know how to do. Every strength you have today was perhaps once a weakness. Every expert was once a beginner. The difference wasn't that they had all the answers, the difference was that they stayed curious long enough to learn. Let's talk about another way curiosity can actually change your life, and that is by saving you from assumptions. This is probably where curiosity has made the biggest difference for me personally. Our brains are wired to make sense of everything around us, even when there are gaps in what we know, we fill them in, oftentimes with our own stories. Think about it. Someone doesn't text you back, or a coworker seems a bit off, a friend cancels plans, or your boss gives you a super short feedback. Instantly your mind starts running wild. Did I do something wrong? Are they mad at me? Do they even like me? The problem is those stories aren't always true. Even if they feel very real in the moment. So, say for example, someone cuts us off in traffic. We think, wow, what a jerk. But if we cut someone off, we're quick to say, oops, didn't see them. Same thing with emails. When someone's email is short, we might assume they're frustrated. But when we send a short one, it's just because we're busy, right? So curiosity is what helps us pause and look at things from another angle. Instead of immediately jumping to, they're so rude. Curiosity nudges us to wonder, what might I not know here? Maybe they're having a tough day. Maybe they're overwhelmed or distracted. Maybe my story about this isn't the whole truth. And of course, this doesn't mean we excuse bad behavior or ignore red flags. It just means we're open to the idea that there's more to the story than what we see. Honestly, some of the best conversations, strongest relationships, and even the biggest misunderstandings I've avoided have all started with a little curiosity. Because curiosity leads to understanding and assumptions just create distance. And I'm not saying I've never passed judgment or that I've never had a misunderstanding with anyone. Not in the least. But what I am saying is that because I have had to navigate those situations, I've noticed that the best outcomes have occurred when I remained curious. And here's something I want you to really consider. Whether we're learning a new skill, figuring out and navigating a new relationship, or just navigating life. Curiosity is always pushing us in the same direction. It's pushing us to stay open. Open to new information, to different perspectives, open to the possibility that we don't have the whole story yet. And that's okay. Psychologists call this psychological flexibility. It's our ability to roll with the punches, adapt to change, and keep moving forward even when things feel uncertain or uncomfortable. And the more I learn about this idea, the more I realize curiosity is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to build it. And here's the best part. Curiosity doesn't demand that you have all the answers. It doesn't require a flawless plan. All it asks is that you stay open just long enough to see what's possible. Stay open long enough to learn something new, long enough to really understand someone else. Stay open long enough to grow into the version of yourself you haven't met yet. Some of the most meaningful opportunities and lessons in my life have come from situations I never could have predicted. If I'd insisted on certainty or waiting for every answer before moving forward, I probably would have missed them entirely. And that's the gift of curiosity for you, for me, for all of us. It's a gentle reminder that you don't have to have it all figured out right now. You don't have to know all the answers or see the entire path ahead. Sometimes your only job is to stay curious enough to take the next step, and then the next one, and then the next one after that. Trusting that clarity often shows up while we're in motion, not before. So here's your practice for this week. Start paying attention to those moments when you're about to jump to a conclusion, whether that's a big one or a small one. Maybe it's when you're wrestling with a challenge, navigating a tricky situation at work, interacting with someone in your life, or simply trying to make sense of what's happening around you. Instead of letting your first conclusion slam the door shut, see if you can pause just for a moment and leave the door open with a little curiosity. Ask yourself, what else might be true? What might I be missing? What haven't I considered yet? You don't have to have the answer, and you don't even have to fix it right then and there. Your only job is to keep the door open just a little longer because sometimes growth happens the moment we stop assuming we already know the whole story. As we wrap up today's episode, I hope you'll carry this idea with you. You don't have to know exactly how things will turn out, you don't have to know how the story ends, and you don't have to rush to a conclusion. Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is simply stay open. Open to learning, open to understanding, open to possibilities we can't even see yet. Because curiosity is about being willing to keep asking questions. It's about remaining open long enough to discover what might be possible. So thank you for joining me for another episode of the growth practice. Until next time, keep practicing, keep growing, and keep the door open. We are capable. Let's grow.