Why this episode matters
Let’s talk about that word, “curiosity.” I think a lot about curiosity. You could say, I’m curious about being curious. Being curious naturally forces us to slow down, to take ourselves off the autopilot or cruise control mode that is daily life for most of us. Being curious encourages us to engage more meaningfully with others at work, at home, and at school. As we’ll hear in this series, being curious lays several other key benefits right at our feet.
I’ve asked several people to come on the show in this series to talk very briefly about an aspect of their life that makes them tilt their heads in curiosity and want to figure out how to satisfy it. My goal here is to have you, my listeners, experience a spark of curiosity and maybe disengage your own autopilot.
What I really find fascinating and baffling and endlessly amusing is how much we are a product of our contexts and how we grew up and where we grew up. And the systems that dictated how society worked, where we grew up.
—Charlotte Wittenkamp
My guest
My guest in this episode is Charlotte Wittenkamp. I met Charlotte on LinkedIn, and she immediately impressed me as someone who could help raise my thinking game. If you’re not connected to her, you should be. Charlotte is originally from Denmark, where she worked in organizational development, primarily in the finance industry. Charlotte has lived in California since 1998.
The third edition of Charlotte’s book Building Bridges Across Cultural Differences, Why Don’t I Follow Your Norms? comes out later this year. Her own experiences relocating led her to secure an MS in org. Psychology with research into global differences in value systems and communication patterns. Many of her “learning experiences” are shared as a columnist for BizCatalyst360.com and on her website USDKExpats.org. She leads a multinational and multigenerational communication training group.
Referenced
- American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard
- South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Amani Perry
- Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends and Colleagues by David L. Bradford and Carole Robin.
Ali — Thank you so much for commenting! I rarely get any feedback on an episode. I’m with you on nature — including human nature. It never ceases to surprise me.
I’m curious, what’s a word you feel we humans use without understanding its whole meaning or that has become “familiar” — thread worn — with overuse? “Authentic” comes to mind for me. Authentic, to me, means that our actions align with our values. The social connotation is that such behavior is always admirable, but some of the worst tyrants in history aligned their actions to what they valued.
Thanks Jeff for your informative reply.
Just to make myself clear you know of the saying the last thing fish know is water. Fish become familiar with water so they no more give their attention.
I felt the same towards the word curiosity.
Jeff, I am curious among many other things in life is how often we use words without being aware of their meaning. They become so familiar that curiosity to understand their meaning vanishes.
So, I warmly welcome your definition “Being curious naturally forces us to slow down, to take ourselves off the autopilot or cruise control mode that is daily life for most of us.” It is indeed what I experience when I get curious.
Nature is one major source of my curiosity. It shall always be.