After midlife burnout came a rediscovered curiosity for two friends and writers
t was the early 2000s, we were in our 20s and had both started as assistants at the same company. We bonded over excruciating induction sessions, where we had to reveal things like which cartoon character we most identified with . We laughed a lot, but we also worked really hard – and pushed each other to do new things. Twenty years later, with six children between us as well as more senior jobs, we found ourselves bogged down by endless to-lists and the relentless pace of midlife.
Many studies have shown that having a curious mindset has real-life benefits, both for our bodies and our souls. Our brains have evolved to release dopamine when we discover new things, and dopamine boosts memory, creativity and forges new neural connections. Other research shows that having a driving sense of curiosity can break down barriers between people – particularly important in our increasingly polarised world – c uriosity helps us to build empathy, connectivity and respect for others.
A Year of Living Curiously: 365 Things Worth Knowing by Elizabeth Foley and Beth Coates is published by Faber
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trump’s Pentagon pick Hegseth wrote of US military taking sides in ‘civil war’Defense secretary pick said in 2020 that should Democrats win election the military ‘will be forced to make a choice’
Read more »
Twelve years ago, I wrote a letter thanking a family I will never meetI started the letter many times. It brought me to tears, which irritated my eye, the one with tiny stitches embroidering a new cornea in place.
Read more »
Twelve years ago, I wrote a letter thanking a family I will never meetI started the letter many times. It brought me to tears, which irritated my eye, the one with tiny stitches embroidering a new cornea in place.
Read more »
Barbara Taylor Bradford: she wrote books about sexy, scrappy, hard-working women like herA towering goddess of late 20th-century fiction, the novelist sold a different way of living to women who did not have choices – and she made all of her own dreams come true• Novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford dies aged 91
Read more »
Samantha Harvey: 'I wrote love letters to Ross Poldark. Is this an admission too far?'Booker-winning novelist Samantha Harvey discusses her teenage crush on Ross Poldark, the impact of CS Lewis's works, and how Hermann Hesse's 'Siddhartha' shaped her life and literary interests.
Read more »
Immortal Dark: Tigest Girma wrote a book about Black vampires to indulge her teen self. It became an NYT bestsellerThree years ago, the author was watching Twilight and daydreaming about a world in which there were more Black vampires. Now she's written a New York Times best-selling romance novel rooted in the Ethiopian myths and culture she was raised on.
Read more »