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Getting Ready to Learn 37

their practical intelligence is very strong and they just have to find
out how things work. However, you don’t need to go much below
the surface of most people to find something that interests them.
That’s why TV game shows, Trivial Pursuit, crosswords, and quizzes
are popular with many adults.
In the UK, Ford has created one of the best-known employee
development schemes, known as Ford EDAP. Under this scheme,
each employee is given an amount of money and encouraged to go
off and learn something that has no relationship to their job, but
that stimulates their curiosity. These employees have found that
you can relearn curiosity and get into the habit of enjoying asking
questions. You can “reprogram” your brain to be curious.

What is your own curiosity rating? If you feel that you have lost your natural interest in find-
ing out about the world around you, try these simple activities. What kinds of things do you
like doing most at home? Make a list of your top five. Now make a similar list based on your
work. Study your two lists. Are these things really of interest to you? Do they make you want
to find out more?
Who do you admire most in the world? What do you think they are most interested in? If
you have children, what area of their interest most appeals to you? See if you can focus on
just one new area of interest and rekindle your curiosity in it.
If this doesn’t work, try watching less television (unless you are deliberately using it as a
source of information). Set aside one night a week to do something for yourself. You could try
a new sport, learn to cook something, go for a walk somewhere you don’t know, or search the
web for new places to go on vacation.
Think of the person in your immediate circle at work, or someone important among your
friends at home, who seems to be the most curious and interested in life, and spend some time
with them. Listen for how they ask questions and how they show their appreciation when they
find out something new. Try to imitate them, using your own style of language and approach.
Ask them why they are curious about some things and not others.

For many people, not being emotionally ready to learn is the root
cause of their inability to do so. One of the most common causes of
this is fear.
Often, this comes about as the result of past experiences. The
British Campaign for Learning carried out some telling research
with a number of older men and women to find out their attitudes