Muse International Core Value: Curiosity

An open mind fosters creativity. It keeps us fluid and flexible. Welcome in new ideas, new cultures, and new experiences with open arms. They lead to the most interesting places.

Trading Control for Wonder

Curiosity is not a strategy or a personality trait — it’s a way of being. A way to tap back into the wonder of the inner child. Before judgment, before certainty, before the need to be right — there was curiosity. It’s how we first learned to walk, to touch, to listen, to trust. Somewhere along the way, many of us traded that openness for efficiency and certainty. We became adults who stopped asking why and started proving how.

~ But curiosity isn’t something we lose; it’s something we forget to practice. And when we remember it, life and leadership flourish. ~

In day-to-day life, curiosity looks like a pause between reaction and response. It’s noticing the tightening in your chest when someone disagrees with you and asking, “What might they see that I don’t?” It’s replacing “I already know this” with “I wonder what else there is to learn.” It’s walking into a meeting, not to impress or defend, but to discover.

Internally, curiosity rewires us. When you catch yourself looping in worry — you might reframe:

“What if this goes wrong?” → “What might I learn if it does?”

When jealousy flickers:

“Why them?” → “What might their story inspire in me?”

When disappointment hits:

“Why is this happening to me?” → “What could this be preparing me for?”

This is what curiosity feels like on the inside — a loosening, a breath. It turns the noise of self-criticism into the hum of possibility. It transforms anxiety into awareness, control into connection. In business, curiosity becomes a creative engine. It’s what allows a team to say, “Let’s test it,” instead of, “That won’t work.”

~ It’s what builds cultures of learning instead of fear, and relationships that are exploratory, not transactional. ~

Simon Sinek once said, “Cause blindness blunts humility and exaggerates arrogance, which in turn stunts innovation.” Curiosity is the antidote — it keeps us humble enough to listen, adaptable enough to grow, and brave enough to change course.

“Cause blindness” happens when people become so devoted to a mission, belief, or purpose —their cause — that they stop questioning it. It’s what occurs when passion turns into tunnel vision. When we’re so sure we’re doing something for the right reasons that we become blind to the unintended harm, bias, or arrogance that can come from that conviction. Sinek uses the phrase to

describe how leaders, teams, or organizations can lose humility once they believe their cause automatically makes them good. They stop being curious, stop listening, and stop evolving.

And what’s more courageous than beginning from a place of curiosity? It’s having the courage to change your mind after you’ve already shared your ideas with others. To stand in front of a team, a friend, or a community and say, “I’ve rethought this — and I’ve changed my mind.” That moment is not weakness; it’s wisdom. It’s the mark of a leader who values growth over ego, truth over

pride.

~ It takes vulnerability to admit new understanding, courage to name it aloud, and emotional maturity to let change be visible. ~

And just before that moment, there’s a quieter filter: the gut check. The subtle tightening in your chest, the whisper that says, “Something is missing.” “Something does not feel right.” Curiosity is an inward practice of listening for those signals — the body’s intelligence— intuition. When your stomach flips or your breath shortens, that’s data. When a plan looks perfect on paper, but your

inner voice won’t settle, that’s data too. Curiosity asks, “What is this sensation trying to tell me?” “What would I learn if I paused here? “How would the outcome change? What new possibilities can grow if I am brave enough to change my mind?”

Curiosity isn’t just about asking questions — it’s about being open to their answers, even when they reshape what we thought we knew. It’s about not having the answers yet, but having the courage to tell others you want to reframe, rethink, before locking in what’s next. Listening to your gut doesn’t make you fickle— it’s how you notice possible misalignment before it grows, how

you protect integrity before momentum overrides it, and how you lead with both discernment and heart.

Trevor Noah put it simply: “Be curious, not fearful.” Because fear closes; curiosity opens. Fear makes us defend; curiosity helps us connect. Fear builds walls; curiosity builds bridges. When curiosity becomes your approach to all things — every interaction, mistake, and moment becomes a classroom. It turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. It invites you back into the practice of being awake to your own life and leads to the most interesting places.

~ To live with curiosity is to trade control for wonder, certainty for openness, and routine for discovery. It’s how we keep the inner child alive inside the adult — the one who still wants to understand, to play, to explore, to connect. ~

When was the last time you let your curiosity lead — without needing to be right, ready, or sure? What might change if you approached this day like a child seeing it for the first time?