What happens when we decide we already know?
We talk about curiosity as though it's always available to us. As though staying open is simply a matter of asking better questions and being willing to understand another perspective.
But what happens when that perspective challenges something we've built part of ourselves around?
In this episode of The Hey Alexa Podcast, Alexa sits down with Mark Groves — Human Connection Specialist, founder of Create The Love, author, speaker, coach, and host of The Mark Groves Podcast — for a wide-ranging conversation about what actually makes curiosity possible.
Together, they explore the relationship between curiosity and security, why our capacity to understand others may begin with our willingness to investigate ourselves, and what happens when our beliefs become so intertwined with our identity that changing our minds can feel like losing part of who we are.
The conversation moves through relationships, triggers, self-worth, inherited beliefs, boundaries, belonging and our increasingly complicated relationship with attention and technology. Mark and Alexa explore why understanding someone doesn't require agreeing with them, why surrounding ourselves only with people who reinforce what we already believe can limit us, and how reclaiming our attention may be essential to reclaiming our capacity for curiosity.
And eventually, the conversation arrives somewhere bigger:
What if curiosity isn't simply a communication skill, but a way of choosing how we meet another human being?
Because behind every belief is a person — with experiences, relationships, fears, protections and an identity wrapped around how they've come to understand the world.
And sometimes asking a question isn't about changing someone's mind.
Sometimes it's simply a way of saying: there is still something about you worth discovering.
In this conversation
Curiosity, security and the nervous system • Self-worth and reactivity • Becoming curious about ourselves • Relationships as mirrors • Boundaries and discernment • Identity and inherited beliefs • Belonging and the courage to change our minds • Attention, algorithms and our relationship with technology • Understanding without endorsement • Diversity of thought • Curiosity in disagreement • Human connection in an increasingly divided world
Connect with Mark Groves
Mark is a Human Connection Specialist and the founder of Create The Love. His work explores relationships, personal growth, authenticity and what it means to live and relate with greater intention.
Mark Groves — Website
Instagram — @createthelove
Instagram — @itsmarkgroves
The Mark Groves Podcast
Mark's Free Digital Detox
During the episode, Mark talks about how our relationship with technology can affect our attention, our ability to create space for ourselves, and ultimately our capacity for curiosity. Near the end of your conversation, he specifically offers listeners his free Digital Detox, which he describes as being based on current research and filled with practical changes people can make to their relationship with technology.
Get Mark Groves' free Digital Detox
Mark's site describes it as a free, science-backed protocol designed to help people reclaim their focus, sleep and attention.
