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Welcome to My Musings – a space where I unpack myths, share personal reflections, and offer pragmatic strategies for navigating life and work's twists and turns.

Today’s Musing: Getting curious is the way out of getting stuck. Looking creates movement – physically, mentally, and emotionally.

What Football Taught Me About Curiosity and Growth

Really. I think it’s a beautiful game, and I think I understand it (my friends would likely disagree), but I just can’t get into it.

However, I came across something recently that made me much more interested in football. And it doesn’t hurt that he was also the host of Jeopardy! temporarily.

“Aaron Rodgers: Enigma”

This is a fascinating documentary. And it has nothing to do with football. At least not for me.

In the series, Rodgers reflects on his journey following his Super Bowl XLV victory in 2011. Achieving this career pinnacle led him to an unexpected sense of emptiness, prompting questions about his identity and purpose beyond football. He shares, "I remember thinking, 'Now what?' I had accomplished everything I set out to, but I felt lost."

In other words – he was stuck.

So, Rodgers did what anyone would do - psychedelics.

But seriously, he decided to look elsewhere. He embarked on a path of self-discovery, exploring various spiritual practices and philosophies to find deeper meaning in his life. 

Rodgers notes, "The idea of success and failure is unfortunately tied to winning and losing.” He had to get curious about a different way of looking at success.

And that curiosity got him moving again.

The Post-Achievement Void and the Illusion of “Arrival”

It's totally normal to feel a sense of emptiness after reaching a major milestone. You’ve spent years, maybe decades, chasing a goal, and now that it’s in the bag, the drive that propelled you forward can suddenly vanish.

This isn’t a sign of failure; it’s an invitation - an opportunity to reassess your priorities, explore new interests, and experiment with different paths for personal growth and fulfillment. An invitation to reassess, to sniff around, to start looking more closely at the things you think you know inside and out – and to dive into things you know nothing about.

James Hollis, a Jungian analyst (someone I’ve mentioned before), refers to this as the illusion of arrival. Hollis emphasizes that achieving significant career milestones often doesn’t bring lasting fulfillment. When reality doesn’t align with expectations, it can lead to emptiness.

Consider the story of Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time. After his historic run at the 2016 Olympics, Phelps opened up about falling into a deep depression despite his unparalleled achievements. He described feeling lost and unfulfilled, asking, "Who am I outside of swimming?" Like Hollis’ onion metaphor, Phelps had to get interested in himself - in who he was. He had to peel back the layers of his identity to explore a deeper sense of purpose, eventually finding meaning through mental health advocacy.

In his recent conversation on This Jungian Life, Hollis suggests that the pursuit of meaning is a lifelong journey, not a one-time deal. After achieving our initial goals, deeper questions about purpose and fulfillment often arise. It’s like peeling an onion - there’s always another layer to explore.

And that exploration requires curiosity.

Why Curiosity?

Curiosity shifts our focus from rigid problem-solving and habitual thought patterns to an open-minded exploration of possibilities.

For example, Steve Jobs famously spoke about his fascination with calligraphy during a college course. Though unrelated to his initial career goals, this curiosity profoundly influenced the typography and design of Apple’s products, showcasing how exploring unrelated interests can lead to groundbreaking innovations.

According to Better in Every Sense by Norman Farb and Zindel Segal, curiosity disrupts the Default Mode Network (DMN) - the part of the brain responsible for routine thinking and self-referential judgment. This shift can play a significant role in personal growth and overcoming stagnation.

By inviting us to explore rather than analyze, curiosity stimulates areas of the brain associated with novelty and sensory engagement, helping us see beyond the familiar.

Curiosity gets us out of the “house of habit,” as Farb and Segal describe it. When we lean into curiosity, we engage in perceptual inference (adjusting our understanding based on new sensory inputs), inviting the unexpected to inform us.

This process is what the authors call sense foraging – engaging with our senses to break free from mental ruts and open up new possibilities for self-discovery and creative thinking. In this framework, curiosity becomes a tool for uncovering fresh insights and creating space for transformation.

How Do I Get More Curious?

I’m glad you asked.

Farb and Segal offer several simple, practical tools for fostering curiosity. Here are two to get you started:

1. Seeing with Beginner’s Eyes

Think of this as a challenge: Can you notice something entirely new in a place you see every day? This exercise encourages curiosity by challenging you to look at familiar surroundings as though you’re seeing them for the first time.

What to Do: Set a timer for 5 minutes and choose a room or outdoor space to explore visually. Pick five objects in your view and name them. Then, find five details about each object you’ve never noticed before—textures, colors, shapes, or even shadows.

Why It Works: By focusing on small, overlooked details, you engage your brain in a process of discovery, activating curiosity and disrupting habitual patterns of perception.

2. Sense Foraging in Daily Life

Here’s your next challenge: Can you turn an ordinary moment into a sensory adventure? This practice uses sensory exploration to cultivate curiosity and presence in everyday moments.

What to Do: The next time you eat or drink something, approach it as an opportunity for sensory curiosity. Ask yourself: What does it smell like? How does the texture feel? Can I detect all the distinct flavors? What emotions or memories arise from these sensations?

Why It Works: By anchoring your attention in sensory details, you reduce the dominance of the DMN and make room for new connections and insights.

If you try either of these (or want to know more), get in touch, or check out the book! In either case, you’ll be using your curiosity.

As for me - I’ll be using some of these tools come Super Bowl Sunday. Rodgers won’t be there (and I'm not actually that curious about that), but that doesn’t mean I can’t watch the game from a whole different perspective.

Want to Start Exploring?

Curiosity is the spark that ignites change. If you're ready to explore what’s next in your career or life, let’s start a conversation and see where curiosity takes us.

Let’s talk.

I hope this week’s musings offered a new perspective. See you next week!