Explorer's Syndrome, a predilection for learning.

This is likely to be familiar to you and even in your family there are people who share very specific characteristics. People who love to learn and share an incredible craving for knowledge. I’m not talking about reading and reading books as a hobby or just settling for some odd data on some peculiar subject.

NO.

Explorers have so much desire to learn that sometimes they end up moving away from the typical office job and making them embark on an adventure with creative jobs or even their own exploring adventure.

There are different ways of understanding this phenomenon, however a pattern of “learning addiction” is identifiable.

Some with the people that I have crossed my path, and with whom I have shared my belonging to the group of explorers, is rather an addiction to curiosity, to the new, to wanting to know more and being able to connect the dots to be able to find solutions.

However, although I have used the term “addiction” several times, I was not completely convinced because in the Spanish language we have come to spoil it to refer to something negative.

I feel incapable of condemning something as wonderful as possessing infinite curiosity!

Curiosity and learning to generate satisfaction when it develops in a balanced way, but from there to the addiction that we can feel with coffee, tobacco or sugar … Not at all! I prefer to use the word predilection because it brings a positive concept to this inclination.

Perhaps you have to think of a more accurate, more positive term that encompasses all the people who meet the same pattern and who are happy in their constant search for new knowledge. At the moment searching the Internet, the “Explorer Syndrome” seems to me the best terminology from a more technical point of view.

What do these explorers have in common?

But what do these professionals have in common besides their immense desire to discover and learn? We are going to see the points that we share more generally so that you can get an idea, and who knows, maybe find out if you are also an explorer.

They love challenges but limits push them back.

As explorers we like to feel creative or investigative freedom when embarking on new projects. For this reason, when a challenge is posed to us, we usually accept it in a rather instinctive way.

However, if there are obstacles or limitations to satisfy our curiosity, we usually propose more open alternatives or if it is impossible for us, we prefer to give up before forcing ourselves and remain stagnant.

1.- They shun labels.

Scouts tend to avoid labels, especially if it pigeonholes them in a specific position, both professionally and socially. Why?

Assigning yourself to a specific position or position within an environment can act as a brake on new opportunities and new learning paths.

When it comes to carrying out a “specific role”, such as a control or command post, scouts see the possibilities of sinking their teeth into a strange project, a curious initiative, or even solving problems that seem like a challenge to the mind … disappear.

2.- They are permanently dissatisfied.

A great majority of explorers believe that they could be in a better place and although it may have superb connotations, that better place is not identified with a higher salary or a higher status within the company but in jobs or positions that allow them to advance in their career and pursuit of knowledge.

This trait is a very relevant indicator when it comes to identifying and even guiding people with these tendencies, since as a general rule they are usually labelled negatively. The consequences of this assessment generates a lot of resentment, frustration and above all a lack of motivation to progress personally and professionally.

3.- They love beginnings, they are initiators and entrepreneurs.

Their interest makes them want to develop new ideas in a very personal way and offer all possible support in an unconditional way in order to advance their vision.

However, this trait also has its dark side and that is that after the start, so full of motivation and enthusiasm, a long and monotonous maintenance phase arrives that bores them sovereignly.

Because of this and trying to find new projects to be part of or to allow them to continue investigating, they often start to generate an image of inconsistent.

From an individual point of view it should not generate any problem, since what has been learned is used as one more resource in a portfolio of skills and knowledge, but there is no doubt that at a professional level if there are numerous job changes, positions, cities, etc. by companies a perception of not being someone that produces stability.

It is important to understand that not every time there is abandonment or lack of interest, although what motivates them most are the principles, they are also capable of committing to the end in a firm and loyal way.

The psychologist Shahram Heshmat assures that this ability that the inveterately curious have is something natural and arises from the need between what we know and what we would like to know about what we are passionate about. It also refers to the fact that they are not satisfied with what they know and want to change the ideas and practices they have. The search for new knowledge releases dopamine, which makes the brain activate and search for these stimuli. If there are no stimuli, this action fades little by little, as when a person settles for a monotonous and boring job that does not involve any challenge

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Do you consider yourself someone like that? What are the greatest achievements you have achieved thanks to this quality? It would be great if you share it in the comments.

Are you really an explorer?

I think the most important characteristic of these passionate about learning is their creativity. Because as I often explain, the way talent is created feels like a funnel. The wider the mouth, the more diverse the experiences and enriching the learning. Then, as the professional specifies his field of activity, the funnel narrows and it is where these ideas are connected.

It is thanks to this early expansion, which later becomes specialized, that explorers are very clever at connecting the dots between ideas. For example, logistics is a challenge of continuous learning and at the same time of solving ideas, so it is a position, although it may surprise us, in which we find many explorers.

In a society that is increasingly immediate and focused on productivity linked to the generation of content, it is very important to encourage these professionals, especially the younger ones, to explore and not worry if the results are not seen immediately .

The ability to learn continuously is the most valuable skill of the 21st century professional.

Although everything has its price and it is that the explorer is difficult to manage and organizations find the learning curve of an employee expensive, since conflicts will be generated to implement new changes, schedules for learning, valuation and conflict of existing structures, etc.

Do you want to know if you are an explorer? Click here.

IMPORTANT WARNING TO EXPLORERS:

As strange and contradictory as it may seem, I have found that explorers work best with certain limits because if they can go freely in any direction they succumb to absolute dispersion. Be careful making career decisions, your beliefs may be playing tricks on you and lead you to places where you will be scattered; moving away from others where limits will make your creativity multiply.

The ignorant are better off by those who read books. To these, those who retain what they have read. To these, those who understand what they read. To these, those who get down to work. Hindu proverb.