Curiosity vs. Worry: A Different Way to Approach Life

Curiosity vs. Worry: A Different Way to Approach Life

I once had a friend who faced an extraordinary number of medical challenges. His health had been poor for decades, leading to his medical discharge from the military. According to the VA, he was more than 100% disabled—a number that speaks to the extent of his suffering. His quality of life was difficult, yet he always made the best of it.

Then came another blow: a cancer diagnosis. His response? A simple, almost resigned, "Of course." Not with bitterness, not with anger—just an acknowledgment that in a life already marked by hardship, this was just one more thing. He understood. And in the end, he found peace. Maybe because he had faced mortality so many times before, or maybe because he had learned to accept the unknown rather than resist it.

Reflecting on his journey, I found myself drawn to the idea of curiosity. Not necessarily about death, but about life itself. What if we approached our challenges with a sense of wonder instead of worry? Instead of anticipating every worst-case scenario, what if we leaned into the unknown with a mindset of "I wonder what's going to happen next?" rather than "What if this goes wrong?"

Worry is natural. It’s a way our minds try to protect us from pain, from failure, from loss. But it can also paralyze us, keeping us trapped in fear of what might be instead of experiencing what is. Curiosity, on the other hand, invites us to stay present. It encourages us to see life as an unfolding story rather than a problem to solve.

This isn’t about dismissing hardships or pretending that life is always fair. It isn’t about forcing optimism where it doesn’t belong. It’s about shifting perspective—about recognizing that, while we may not control what happens, we can choose how we meet it. My friend met life with resilience, and even in his final days, he met death with acceptance. That is a lesson worth holding onto.

So the next time worry creeps in, maybe we can pause and ask: What if I approached this with curiosity instead? What might change if, instead of fearing the future, I simply wondered about it?