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Growth Mindset

Discover Your Sage Powers: Explore

explore sage power illustration

Published November 04, 2024
by Positive Intelligence

Unlock discovery, grow personally, and inspire your team with the power of curiosity.

What Is Sage?

Your mind has two sides — the Saboteurs and the Sage. Saboteurs are mental habits that hold you back, like self-doubt, stress, and worry. They limit your thinking and negatively impact your performance, relationships, and well-being. The Sage, however, is the positive part of your mind that embraces learning, curiosity, and creativity. By shifting focus from the Saboteurs to the Sage, you can approach life with an open and curious mind and increase your resilience.

The Sage works through five main powers: Empathize, Explore, Innovate, Navigate, and Activate. Each one helps you take on life’s challenges with openness and clarity.

Sage Power: Explore

Explore is your Sage’s power of curiosity. When you approach the world with curiosity and openness, you become receptive to new ideas and different perspectives. This Sage Power taps into the wonder and excitement of seeing things with fresh eyes, like a child discovering the world. Embracing the power to Explore can deepen self-awareness, spark innovative thinking, and enable teams to tackle challenges confidently.

When You Need Explore

Explore is helpful in challenging or uncertain situations. If you’re dealing with a challenge, having a difficult conversation, or working on a complicated problem, curiosity can help you find better answers. The Explore mindset encourages you to ask, “What can I learn here?” instead of “How can I control this?” This open, nonjudgmental perspective is essential for learning and growth, both individually and collectively.

How to Use Explore

You can strengthen your curiosity through simple, effective practices.

Mindfulness Practices: Mindfulness can make you more aware and open-minded. Activities like meditation, mindful nature walks, or observing things around you without judgment help you see things as they are, without needing to “fix” anything. This openness can lead to new ideas and discoveries.

Asking Open-Ended Questions: Try asking questions that focus on learning rather than finding quick answers. For example, ask a teammate, “What do you think could help us solve this problem?” instead of “Why isn’t this working?” These types of questions open the door to more ideas and insight.

The Biggest Obstacles to Explore: The Judge & Stickler

Many adults find it hard to stay curious. Saboteurs, like the Judge and the Stickler, can block curiosity by reinforcing rigid expectations and a fear of failure. The Judge criticizes and makes you feel like you have to be perfect, while the Stickler demands you follow strict rules.

To fully tap into your Sage’s power to Explore, it’s essential to recognize and intercept these Saboteurs, allowing curiosity to lead the way instead of fear or criticism. When the Judge, Stickler, or other Saboteurs appear, label your thoughts and emotions at that moment as Saboteur, and let them go so you can shift back to a curious, open mindset.

Sage Power Game: Fascinated Anthropologist

To activate the Explore power, try the Fascinated Anthropologist game.

Observe Without Judgment: Imagine yourself as an anthropologist observing your surroundings without trying to change or control anything. This means you’re fully engaged in discovering things as they are, with curiosity.

For Self-Exploration: In a challenging situation, like a conflict with a coworker, try to see it as a chance to learn. Can you put aside your own feelings for a few moments and be curious about why the other person feels the way they do? The “Fascinated Anthropologist” approach can make challenging situations easier to understand.

Why Explore Is Important for Teams

Discovery is crucial in teamwork and problem-solving. When team members approach problems with curiosity, they communicate openly, develop creative solutions, and strengthen collaboration. The Explore power allows teams to see mistakes as chances to learn, creating a culture where growth and new ideas thrive.

Leaders who stay curious set a strong example for their teams. A curious leader who asks questions, remains open to new ideas, and encourages discovery can create a work environment where people feel comfortable exploring, thinking creatively, and embracing challenges as opportunities for growth.

How the PQ Program Builds Your Explore Power

The PQ Program from Positive Intelligence® helps you strengthen your Sage Powers, including Explore. Through daily exercises on the PQ app, you’ll practice shifting from judgment to curiosity, allowing you to rewire your brain for a more exploratory mindset. The program teaches you to spot the Saboteurs that block curiosity and replace them with open-minded exploration.

When you tap into Explore daily, you gain self-awareness, unlock creativity, and take on challenges with confidence and a positive, open mind.

Embrace Your Sage Powers

Explore is just one of the 5 Sage Powers that can transform your personal and professional life. By developing curiosity, you strengthen connections, improve teamwork, and lead with an open mind. The Sage Powers, including Explore, offer a way to handle life’s challenges and unlock your full potential.

Are you ready to unlock the power of curiosity? Share this guide with your team or coworkers, and discuss how Explore can positively impact your workplace.

Then, explore how the PQ Program can help you and your team develop your Sage Powers to achieve peak performance and well-being.

Discover Your Saboteurs

The first step to conquering your Saboteurs is to identify them and expose their lies and limiting beliefs.

Take the Assessment
Saboteur Assessment animation

Access Your Sage Powers

Discover how to access your 5 Sage Powers to shift the balance of power in your mind from negative to positive.

Read the Blog Post