Unless you’re a Russian-speaker, you probably won’t know what I’m on about, but the very fact that you chose to read this blog may mean that you’re a Pochemuchka anyhow.

There is no direct translation in English for the Russian word Pochemuchka, which makes me think that maybe there aren’t enough of them in the English-speaking world to warrant the word.

In essence, a Pochemuchka is a person who constantly asks questions – someone who always wants to know the reason for things.

Now we’ve all encountered that child who, whatever your answer to their questions, will continually ask ‘Why?’ It doesn’t matter what you say, nothing satisfies their curiosity and inquisitiveness – indeed the term Pochemuchka was inspired by a Russian children’s book titled Alyosha Pochemuchka, in which the protagonist is a highly inquisitive young boy.

Now I’m not suggesting you go around as an adult irritating your peers with pointless and pestering questions, but I think having a constantly questioning mind can be a valuable trait.

People who visited my house used to think I was a bit mental, as I had the word ‘WHY?’ drawn out on a piece if paper and posted on my wall for some time. It served to me as a reminder: to remember why I was committed to doing certain things; to remember not to accept all things without question; and to remember to always be curious!

Inquisitiveness shows that we are still open to learning, to improving and accepting that we don’t know everything. But that we are willing to find out.

It is horribly easy when we go about our daily lives to take the short-cut of never questioning things, or doing things as a matter of routine rather than for the right reasons. ‘Why?’ can be a powerful question in getting you back to the root of your decisions, behaviours and reactions.

And when you’ve figured that all out, it never hurts to ask a few more questions – knowledge is power, after all.