What Does a Yellow Sky Have to Do With Curiosity?

This morning, I woke up to a yellow-tinted sky.
It was eerie and unusual; I’ve never seen anything like it.

As my wife and I went for our morning walk, I also noticed a distinct smell in the air.

I had to know why.

Thirty seconds of googling later, I had my answer — wildfires burning in Northern Ontario, with smoke drifting hundreds of kilometres south and scattering the light. (If you’re up north, I hope you and your loved ones are safe. ❤️)

But that moment on the sidewalk sparked a bigger question I get asked all the time:

Is curiosity something you’re born with — or something you can be taught?

The answer is YES. Both.

You were born curious. Watch any toddler for five minutes and you’ll see it. But somewhere between the classroom and the conference room, most of us stopped practicing it. And curiosity is a skill — which means you can rebuild it.

So I built a LEGO model (of course I did 😄) to show you how.

I call it the SEEE Process. Yes, with an extra E.

S — SEE. Curiosity starts with a trigger. Something unusual crosses your path — a yellow sky, a strange smell, a giant duck with a skeleton riding on top (you’ll have to watch the video for that one). Your brain says, “Hey. That’s odd.”

E — ENGAGE. This is the make-or-break moment. You can notice something interesting and keep scrolling... or you can choose to lean in. Here’s the hard truth: busyness is the #1 killer of curiosity. If your calendar is wall-to-wall, you never get to engage. So do this today: carve out time for curiosity on your calendar. Literally block it.

E — EXPLORE. Remember being a kid, playing outside, when Mom said be home by 6:30pm — and suddenly it was 8 o’clock? That’s flow. When you give yourself full permission to explore something you’re curious about, you lose track of time in the best way. Immerse yourself. All five senses.

E — ENJOY. Here’s my favourite part. When you satisfy your curiosity, your brain releases dopamine — the pleasure chemical. Your brain is literally saying thank you for letting me be curious today. Curiosity doesn’t just make you smarter. It makes you feel better.

See it. Engage with it. Explore it. Enjoy it.

Now, it’s your turn:
What made you curious this week? Did you engage it, or did busyness win?

Tell me in the comments.

P.S. Want to bring the SEEE process to your team or organization? Reach out — I’d love to partner with you to build curiosity.