Old Age Begins Where Curiosity Ends

If there is one thing that really makes us move forward, it is curiosity and the desire to find new things, worlds and experiences. Curiosity is born with us and stays with us throughout our lives. The moment we feel that there is nothing more that motivates us to continue learning, we have a problem.

This is an excellent reason why the Portuguese author Saramego said that “old age begins where curiosity ends”. In other words, we associate youth with vitality and the desire to enjoy the world without boundaries, while we associate old age with contentment with life and loss of our appetite to discover more things around us…

Surely you have been able to see that children, especially when they are at their youngest ages, have a desire to experience extremes. They are filled with an energy that makes them question everything, want everything and touch everything that crosses their path. This is normal; they grow and they want to know where they are and what life has to offer them.

To some extent, this is the first step in learning as human beings, and we adults are the ones who are committed to encouraging them to let this curiosity continue and develop in a positive and intellectual way. This is how we must also learn to maintain our constant curiosity – the kind that makes us move and that leads us to overcome challenges: it is what makes us feel young (more like children ).

Various studies have been conducted to try to understand human curiosity. In short, the studies have shown that we are more curious at times when we know a little about a certain subject and want to learn everything about it.

In these cases, curiosity can be represented by an upside-down U, where the starting point arouses our curious desire to know the full amplitude of said U. This factor relates to other studies, which have shown that curiosity is linked to memory and learning: Curiosity helps us not to forget in the form of what can be called motivated learning.

With all that has been said above, we can understand why old age is often believed to involve a lack of curiosity: no longer wanting to learn can be likened to removing the meaning of life. It is important to always maintain a certain curiosity within us – the kind that has made us listen to doorsteps or discover America. Thanks to this, we have made progress in all possible fields.

The best way to encourage this curiosity is, as we have already pointed out, to stimulate its positive aspects in children. Here we will take a look at some ways to do this:

• Develop your imagination: Experiment and let them experiment, try to make the daily routine new “excursions” where they learn something new every day.
• Lead by example: If you want your child to learn something, follow up on what you say with an example. If they see that you still have curiosity, even for everyday things, they will have it too.

• Answer their questions: There is no point in saying “just for the sake of it” except to silence them. Try to give them a good explanation so that these explanations can lead them to ask more questions a little at a time.
• Let them do things themselves: Children need to find out that they can make mistakes and that it is necessary to do this in order to learn. If you give them the chance to understand this, you will help them to take care of themselves in difficult situations and at the same time strengthen their creativity.