When it comes to choosing the most important skill I want to pass on to my children, it is undoubtedly the ability to learn independently. In today’s world, curiosity is far more valuable than passion. While passion is often praised as the driving force behind success, I believe it’s overrated. The truth is, you don’t need passion to achieve real results. In fact, passion can sometimes become an excuse to stop when things get tough. People often say, “I’m not passionate about this anymore,” as a reason to give up. Curiosity, on the other hand, is what keeps us going, even when things get difficult or unclear.

Curiosity has the unique power to push us further, into the uncharted territories of our lives. It makes us open-minded and motivates us to gather more “dots” — knowledge, experiences, and connections — that we can later arrange and make sense of. Unlike passion, which often fades, curiosity continues to grow. Curiosity invites us to explore the richness and abundance of the world.

This abundance is not limited to what is beautiful, good, or true — it includes the ugly, false, and wicked as well. Whatever you seek in this world, you can find. If you remember what you truly want, you’ll start to see it everywhere. This is why curiosity is a compass that guides us through life, helping us to stay on track and find meaning in unexpected places.

Living life with curiosity means moving forward without a fixed destination, but always gathering information and experiences along the way. Then, in retrospect, you can begin to connect the dots and see how the journey has unfolded. This concept is best captured by the quote, “Passion is the result of a good life design, not the cause” by William Burnett. Passion doesn’t drive us — it emerges from the thoughtful choices we’ve made and the paths we’ve explored with curiosity.