10 ways to spark curiosity to reignite joy

Staying curious and open to the sparks that inspire you each day will uplift your mood - the bonus is that it’s good for your brain and cognitive health. Being aware of this openness to wonder and exploration - by engaging all 5 senses  - will improve the way you age and possibly how your life plays out. Wellness coach Januta Ribinskas explains to Citro how to live a life that fuels your passion and purpose.

By Januta Ribinskas

Keep your body-mind connection alive with awareness

The more awareness you have of what fuels your passion and purpose, the more your life becomes better and better.

People become more confident and empowered by developing openness and curiosity to the everyday, no matter how mundane or trivial you believe daily life can be.

The mind is a powerful beast. Mindfulness and awareness in each moment will help you harness it.

Recognising that how you think affects how you feel - which impacts your daily life and the decisions you make - takes time, guidance and daily practice to fully appreciate.

Knowing how to shape your present moment in a way that works for you rather than against you unlocks so much freedom and joy.

Begin by tuning in to your stress - and then tuning it out

Once you tune in and notice how you react to stressful emotional triggers when unexpected scenarios happen - think of things like when a person says something that isn’t supportive - you can shape your present moment in a way that it works for you rather than against you.

This makes daily life unlock so much freedom and joy. It adds layers of fulfilment when you feel inspired - it’s also easier to get out of your comfort zone.

Fear, worry and anxiety start as thoughts and turn into feelings. These feelings start the cycle of negative daily experiences.

Don’t let ageing prevent you embracing what’s new

We’ve been conditioned, too, that ageing can stop us from meeting new people, participating in fresh activities and having wonderful new experiences of life.

Just imagine how amazing it would be to keep extending yourself and travelling more or learning a new language or learning to activate your creativity with an activity like painting, or taking in a beautiful sunset, or fulfilling a lifetime dream.

Brain care for a balanced, happy and peaceful life

It’s never too late. The more you create new experiences the more your brain will create connections between your neurons. This helps improve your memory, relationships, health, and your life. I call this ‘brain care’ for a balanced, happy, peaceful life.

Having fun and being playful, curious and passionate, takes you from the flight and fight stress state to tapping into your parasympathetic nervous system and activating your endocrine system to release your happy natural healing hormones like endorphins, oxytocin and serotonin.  These hormones improve your health naturally. They also activate creativity and give you more energy, too.

When you feel good and learn more about positive emotional intelligence you are usually happier. This translates into a more radiant, healthier you - hey, it might even slow down the ageing process, too.

Learn and apply new behaviours

We were once taught that as we age, we can’t change.  You may have even heard of this saying; “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”.

In fact, research shows the opposite and that our brains are plastic and can change. This change happens when individuals are open and can shift from a fixed mindset to a growth and open mindset.

Contemplate this: what would you like to create?

A starting point to cultivating a happier healthier you is by appreciating yourself and accepting yourself where you are right here and now, no matter what is going on.

This awareness state is crucial to embrace.

Drop off comparing yourself with others or when you were younger. You are unique and there is no-one to compare yourself with. Self-acceptance is important if you would like more peace and quality in your life.

Negative age bias: avoid it

Being aware of the biased narratives around ageing - they can impact how you feel about yourself, your confidence or even feel invisible.

We have travelled through many sun and moon cycles on our planet, as well as cycles and eras of life, to be where we are today.

With that comes wisdom and experience to keep expanding one’s life to keep living it in transformative ways that fulfil your dreams.

Areas of your life like relationships, health or situation may be different to how you imagined it to be at your current stage of life.

Use daily awareness as a tool

The more AWARE you become, the more you notice; with that AWARENESS you can choose differently.

As your awareness grows, you gain the ability to make conscious choices. Here are 3 steps to support you to reach this point:

1. Acknowledge what is going on and where you are at.
2. Accept it (good or bad).
3. Reshape it or re-frame it by using positive language affirmations. For example, if you’re lacking confidence you can tell yourself that “each day I feel more and more confident.”

Here are my 3 other tips to stay open and curious at all stages of life.

Curiosity sustaining tip #1: make daily self-care dates with yourself

Most of us have busy lives just keeping up with work, loved ones or hobbies. But how often do we commit to doing something that nurtures our future self? Hardly ever.

It’s essential to look after you first with daily practices that don’t take long. Trying something new, different, and inspiring each day works wonders on the psyche.

Some daily self care dates for a better functioning brain can be:

• Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning.
• Learn to meditate (even just for 5 minutes) for brain care. Stillness helps with mindfulness.
• Focus on breathing deeply to calm your nervous system and reduce stress.
• Make some time to journal about future dreams and goals.
• Go for a walk (we are designed to exercise and move) in nature. Get to your nearest park or beach to activate your brain. This can help align your circadian rhythms to get a good night’s sleep.
• Check in with your medical practitioner for a health check and medication audit, especially if you are taking a range of long-term medications which may be impacting your sleep quality.
• Check in with yourself throughout the day to notice how you are feeling and realign or reframe your feelings if you aren’t feeling good.
• Prepare for a good night’s sleep by switching off technology an hour before bed. Focus on positive breathing to set you up for a good night’s sleep.
• Reduce alcohol intake.
• If you find yourself in a rigid routine, change something simple like what you want for breakfast or the way you drive or walk to the shop. You can even move furniture around in the house to change things up.
• Do things that allow you to laugh to bring you joy.
• Align yourself with positive people.
• Practice gratefulness daily.
• Explore food as nutrition.

Curiosity sustaining tip #2: Get out of your comfort zone

Here are some outings and ideas that might appeal to you. (And if they don’t, dream up ideas that do!).

• Go to that museum or gallery exhibition that you are interested in (but usually don’t make the effort to do)
• Catch up face-to-face with a new acquaintance or person that shares similar interests to make a new friend.
• Go to the library to find new books to read or ebooks to borrow – I try to read at least one thing a year that sparks my interest but has nothing to do with the types of things I normally consume.
• Go to the movies by yourself.
• Join a choir for your heart and brain health.

Curiosity sustaining tip #3: draw or paint a picture.

Try painting or drawing. You don’t have to see yourself as an artist, it’s about starting without judgement as we all have creativity waiting to be activated.

There’s evidence that just trying to draw or paint something can free your mind to see things in new ways.

Despite our fixed view that art should always end up with a beautiful outcome, the act of merely trying to paint or draw has been shown to reduce distress, increase self-reflection and normalise heart rate and blood pressure.