You know what’s not a waste of time?

I submerged my thoughts in a Wonder Deep Dive, and I’m sharing what I uncovered…

You know that phenomena when you start noticing something and it’s everywhere? I just learned that’s called Baader–Minhoff, btw. When something consistently wanders into my awareness, I dig a little deeper.

Currently I’m seeing a lot related to “curiosity” and “wonder” everywhere from articles to newsletters to podcasts.

It all sounds very intriguing, but

As any curious, divergent thinker will tell you:
My curiosity is part one of my superpowers AND it can be borderline burdensome.
If you’re naturally curious, you know what I mean. Right!?

I’m curious what it means to experience wonder. How is it that we DO wonder?

A deep dive into a topic that interests me? That nourishes my curiosity like nothing else.

A two hour scroll that numbs my brain and only serves to open new tabs… that’s not the same thing as dropping into wonder, right? It certainly doesn’t feel like wonder.

So what does it mean to experience wonder?
And how do I foster more of it?

If everything is interesting and worth exploring, then what actually is?

Here’s what I’ve come to during my Wonder Deep Dive:

You Can Turn Your Curiosity Into Energy!

side-benefits: sometimes producing a cool, original thing
pre-requisite: no forcing-yourself-into-productivity-mode

1. Kiss the algorithm goodbye.
Apps and websites are designed to hack your reward system so you keep scrolling and clicking. If you can hang on Instagram or TikTok for two hours, you have the power to use your curiosity to wonder about things you’re interested in (not what algorithms think you should find fascinating)!

Create a list of 12 questions. In January, I wrote down 12 questions–some whose answers could be found in short order and others that I might never find the answers to. They’re in my Notes app so I can keep track of them and add information that feels like a piece of an answer.

Once I had a focus for my curiosity, it’s been fascinating to see how I seek out information in that area and follow the breadcrumbs. Wondering, in some cases, has gotten me to a result and not left me exhausted.

2. Get specific with constraints.
No better way to illustrate this point than to jump back to operations class in business school. I’m sitting there with 53 of my peers when the instructions are announced:

this half, brainstorm 20 ideas for a business; the rest of you: churn out 20 product ideas utilizing a cardboard box. 3-2-1–GO! Which group crushed the assignment, coming up with 20 ideas in half as many minutes? What’s your guess? Yep, the cardboard box group won.

3. Create time or topic parameters.
A wide open question or unlimited time block can lead to more overwhelm than anything. Put parameters around your ideation time by either breaking down one large question into smaller questions and exploring one of those areas, or set a timer for 10 minutes of random scrolling.

Stop when the timer dings, make note of what you discovered, and know you’ve invested in your sense of wonder without depleting your mental reserves with an aimless scroll.

4. Empower yourself with questions.
Don’t ask “can I?” – instead ask “how can I?” and let your wonder-ing mind wander. Entering a brainstorm session with an attitude of “this is possible, I just have to uncover the way it’s going to work” is significantly more empowering than locking your mind into the binary thinking of “I either can or I can’t.”

Another helpful question “how else could this (current vision/desired result) look?” Sometimes we get stuck in impossiblity because we couldn’t imagine achieving or having the thing in our imagination.

There’s a way to do almost anything when you train your wonder-filled-mind to look for possibilities.

I’m learning that wonder isn’t the same thing as information overload.

And in order to have more original thoughts?

It’s up to me to put the guardrails up and block out the overwhelm of MORE, and instead guide my mind deeper into contained experiences of the sort of wonder and curiosity that actually nourish my thinking.

You don’t have to have the answers, but you do have to ask yourself:
How can I take more time for wonder?
How can I create space for reflection?
Where do I enjoy silence?

If you do have answers, tell me…