Be Curious, Not Judgmental

I’m guessing many of you are familiar with this quote from Ted Lasso - “Be Curious, Not Judgmental” - that now infamous scene where the villain gets schooled by the good guy (Ted) at a “friendly” game of darts. Cue the applause!

And now that it is in the cultural zeitgeist, let’s take a look at how and why this is such a powerful phrase, especially for creatives.

Early stage of this travelogue page - staying curious through the mess,

After many iterations, getting close to the finished page.

In my workshops I often talk about the 3 C’s - 3 principle tenets for staying free in your creative practice - Courage, Commitment, and yes, most importantly, Curiosity.

As long as we stay curious, we put off the inevitable judgement that follows. Curiosity sees the wonder of everything. Curiosity is a deep form of engagement. Curiosity is what frees us up to explore and try new things. Curiosity is the foundation of learning and growth. Without it, we fall prey to the whims and tides of the discursive monkey mind, which finds its juice and strength in judgement.

Judgement is the opposite of curiosity. It thrives in shutting us down. It is smug and relentless in it’s narrow mindedness. It promises “I told you so’s", and scoffs at our earnest effort. And if it’s really abusive, it pummels us with self doubt and hopelessness.

Beginnings of another journal page

Finished journal page

But when we keep coming back to curiosity, we disarm judgement, and are free to explore possibilities. Curiosity costs us nothing - it is free, and it is freedom!

So first we must ask - what would happen if I did ________? That is curiosity in action. All big and small acts came first from that query. Sometimes that question broke through the stagnant repetition of what was, and the maker was deemed a genius. Other times the result yielded nothing tangible, but new branches sprouted from that tree. At the very least, we are granted satisfaction from the exploring and find the answer to the question.

Imagine a world, a place, where we reserve judgements of ourselves, what we create, and what others do or say. The first step is self love, then seeing our vulnerable gestures through the loving gaze of a mother for her child. These marks are perfect in their authenticity, and show tremendous courage to find a world that is ours alone to create.

Just begin with curiosity, and watch judgement shrivel on the vine.