Curiosity starts with a question. What will you ask today? Photo: Deposit Photos

What would happen if you got a little more curious today?

September Is Healthy Aging® Month is underway, and this year’s theme, “Curiosity Has No Age Limit,” is an invitation to keep asking, learning, exploring and discovering—at any age.

Today’s tip is simple: Ask one more question.

Think about how often we move through the day on autopilot. We take the same route. Order the same thing. Talk to the same people about the same subjects. Use technology without knowing what half the buttons do.

Today, interrupt that routine with a question.

At a restaurant, ask about an ingredient you’ve never tried. If you’re walking through your neighborhood, wonder about the history of a building you’ve passed hundreds of times. Ask a friend how they became interested in a hobby. Ask a younger person to show you how they use a new piece of technology. Ask someone older what they remember about an event you only know from history.

Or simply type a question into a search engine, pick up a book, visit a library or find someone who knows more about a subject than you do. The National Institute on Aging notes that adults can continue learning new skills and forming new social connections as they age.

The question doesn’t have to be profound. The point is to follow your curiosity somewhere.

Curiosity can change a conversation

There is another benefit to asking questions: people are interesting when we give them the opportunity to be interesting.

The next time you’re talking with someone, try going one question beyond the usual conversation.

Instead of stopping at “How was your trip?” ask, “What surprised you most?”

Instead of “How’s work?” try, “What’s the most interesting thing you’re working on?”

Instead of assuming you already know someone’s story, ask something that gives you a chance to learn more about it.

You may be surprised by what you hear.

Try it today

Before the day is over, find something you normally wouldn’t question and ask:

Why? How? What if? Where did that come from? How does that work? What do you think?

Then follow the answer wherever it takes you.

That’s today’s September Is Healthy Aging® Month challenge. One extra question may seem like a very small thing.

But curiosity often starts exactly that way.

Ask more. Learn more. Live more.