EDITOR’S NOTE: Motivating employees to work safely is part of the safety professional’s job. But who motivates the motivator? In this monthly column, veteran safety pro and professional speaker Richard Hawk offers his entertaining brand of wisdom to inspire safety pros to perform at their best.

Terry Gross has been interviewing people for over 45 years. She’s a well-known journalist and radio personality in the Philadelphia area. It’s a delight listening to her. She asks the best questions – ones that don’t simply touch the surface. Terry won’t ask a musician, “What’s your favorite song?” but rather, “How can you tell if a song you wrote isn’t good enough to record?” That type of question elicits a thought-out response that tells you something about the musician and provides insight into their creative process.

Curiosity drives us to ask questions, and being a skillful questioner benefits us in many ways. If your desire to learn new things stays active, no matter your age, it’ll positively impact your mental landscape, social interactions and physical health. You’ll also discover how amazing the world is and often feel a sense of awe.

Here are three of my favorite benefits of being curious:

You’ll worry less

Most worrying comes from fretting about the future and replaying regrets. So, if you’re busy learning something new, you’re less likely to be thinking about yourself.

For the past three months, I’ve been researching different countries (a new one every two days). I plan to check out all 195 countries in the world. It’s fun, and I find myself getting “lost” in the endeavor because I’m discovering new things, like national dances and unusual monuments.

Why does it matter that you’re unfamiliar with the material? Because familiar material or behaviors often don’t create enough of a distraction from other thoughts. That’s why you can simultaneously tie your shoes and still worry about an upcoming safety presentation.

It aids your listening skills

As with many traits, people vary in their curiosity baseline. Your level of curiosity is also based on many things such as genetics and environment. I don’t know if I’m naturally curious, but I know that I’ve worked at being curious for many years – and it has paid off. You can do the same.

Although I use books, research papers and search engines, listening to others is my favorite way to learn. And although I don’t claim to be as adept as Gross at asking questions during a conversation, I’ve consistently practiced asking more profound questions about other people’s stories and the events they describe. It’s benefited me during root-cause investigations, too.

If your curiosity is genuine and you work at strengthening it, people will sense it.

It can help prevent cognitive decline

Twenty years ago, I would have said, “So what?” to research showing that learning new things can reduce your chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Now, I feel differently. Of course, at any age, novel learning benefits you. Still, mainly as you pass middle age, evidence suggests it helps prevent dementia as well as age-related mental health issues.

Exactly what type and how much new learning affects your chances of developing Alzheimer’s is still uncertain. According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, “The quality and quantity of education that protects against dementia remains to be clarified.” But overall, medical professionals and researchers believe it helps.

What new skill could you tackle? Not only to prevent decline, but for the joy of learning something new?

Leonardo da Vinci, one of the most productive geniuses of all time, is my favorite “mentor.” One of his defining characteristics – curiosity – stayed with him until he died. Records show that he was upset while on his deathbed because he didn’t attain his goal of “knowing everything.” Da Vinci never gave up on learning about the why and wherefore of the natural and theoretical world. May you and I follow his example and always stay curious.

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