Curiosity asks “how does that work?” Insecurity asks “how do I look?” Only one of them learns.

Both questions begin in the same moment of not knowing something, and they send you in opposite directions. One points your attention outward to the thing itself, where there is something to find out. The other turns it back onto yourself and how you are being seen, where there is nothing to learn at all. Most of the times you failed to pick something up, you were busy managing your image.

Catch the next moment you are lost in class or at work and notice which question you are asking. Asking out loud usually turns your attention back to the actual problem in one move.