Exploring your vision and remaining open-minded

We all explore, new books, music, restaurants, ideas. Yet when we go to work, we stop being curious and exploring and start doing. We stay in the realms of what is here, now and real. Yet finding new ideas, being innovative, seeking new opportunities is how we move ahead and stay ahead. 

But why do we stop exploring? 

We get bogged down with to-do lists, obligations and responsibilities. Our minds are focused on the here and now and we stop thinking how we can make it better for the future.  

The Art of Curiosity

Some people find blue sky thinking, innovation and seeing new opportunities easy. For the more rationale, logical minds, this may be a challenge. The secret is making it part of your role and a priority.  

To do that you need to remain open and resist jumping into decision making and action too soon. Some people love certainty or action, but exploration and curiosity need you to stay playful and open until all opportunities have been explored. 

Our Desire for Closure

Ticking things off the to do list, making decisions and fixing things gives us a dopamine rush. We are wired to get results. We don't like ambiguity or uncertainty. It spurs us into action, but when crafting a vision, we can dismiss alternatives or even fail to seek new ideas, thus failing to stay ahead of the game.

There is a time and a place for closing down and moving into action, and that comes after the vision. Running with the first idea often proves that it was not the best idea after all, and businesses fall into reaction, firefighting and fix it behaviours.