1. Become more comfortable with being wrong.

Flirt with being wrong in the privacy of your own home. Begin to like being wrong until it’s less of a reminder of your failings and more a reminder of your power. When it gets as comfortable as those soft sweats, test it out in public (you may want to change out of your sweats first..or not). You’re becoming a sexy beast of curiosity. Perhaps understanding that you are in enormous company being smarter than average will make you appreciate the non-conformity of your new crush on being wrong.

"I’ll never forget the day I realized that I wasn’t the Ford Model that I though I was." Amy Schumer

2. Create a method for knowing when you’re wrong.

Start with the premise that you’re wrong even when you have the sneaking suspicion that you’re probably right. Poke yourself with a dull chopstick if you can’t get your mind to embrace the idea that you’re wrong.

Cut yourself some slack because this one isn’t easy. Being curious about what it feels like to be wrong is tricky because when we are wrong, we often think we are right. Being wrong creates a sneaky feeling deviously similar to being right.

Start by asking, “What if I’m wrong?” and work on your method on weekends and after work. It’s not always best to wait for someone else to suggest you’re wrong.

3. Stop letting agreement determine the quality of your analyses and decisions.

When we generally agree with a source of information, we are more susceptible to automatically believing that what they tell us is true. When we generally disagree with a source, we tend to be less strategically curious than outright dismissive. In this way we squander our curiosity by handing it over to our anointed authorities.

In our world of data deluge, science comes fast, furious, and often with an agenda. Sharing a belief in that agenda should not remove us from the responsibility of independent curiosity about the veracity of the science.

"My mom’s always saying really smart things…like, you probably heard this one. ‘Why buy the cow when the milk has HPV?’ Wish I’d listen to that one." -Amy Schumer

4. Answer questions that may be more important than the ones that are most comfortable.

This mind-lube for curiosity could save your life.

Although there were a lot of factors that directed my son’s cancer treatment, thankfully we looked for questions beyond which doctor would provide us with the most comfort, and sought answers to questions like: Which protocols are most effective?

Different questions can result in dramatically different answers…and outcomes.

"It’s a weird age. They’re like, ‘Amy, I’m pregnant.’ And I still don’t know whether to be like, ‘Congratulations,’ or ‘Do you need a ride?’" -Amy Schumer

5. Elevate curiosity ahead of criticism.

Just swap the order. Think curiosity first, judgment and criticism later. The reason for this is not to make you less critical or judgmental, but to make you a better critical thinker and more accurate in your judgments.

"She’s always bragging about the dumbest stuff. The other day she was telling me, she’s like, ‘You know I can still fit in my wedding dress.’ I was like, ‘Oh my god, who cares, right?’ I mean it is weird that she’s the same size now as she was when she was 8 months pregnant." -Amy Schumer

What you see is never all that there is.

"I made out with a homeless guy by accident. I had no idea — he was really tan, he had no shoes on. I just thought it was, like, his thang, you know? I was like, ‘He’s probably in a band.’" -Amy Schumer

Comedy, absurdity and provocation are also a lubricants for curiosity.

"I am a woman with thoughts and questions and shit to say." -Amy Schumer… and all of us.