Intelligence IELTS Listening Reading Practice

Intelligence IELTS Listening Reading Practice

Lecturer, author or publisher: Bright Side

Intelligence IELTS Reading Practice

10 reasons why it’s hard for a smart person to be happy

Number 1: They tend to over-analyze things.

Do you often find yourself thinking deeply about the details of your past? Well, people with a high IQ, continuously analyze the events of their lives. While it might sound like a great way to be really insightful, over time it actually exhausts them. Their findings are often full of fear and disappointment with the real dilemmas constantly popping up in their heads. Writer and therapists, Robert IAB recommends learning how to accept your right to make mistakes, recognizing them and allowing others to make mistakes too. People are flawed and we shouldn’t make a big deal of it by criticizing or gossiping. You’ll be much better off just drawing conclusions and moving on.

Number 2: They’re too demanding of themselves and others.

Smart people know exactly what they want and how to get it. They tend to look at the world in an idealistic way and it’s difficult for them to give up or even just lower their expectations. This prevents them from getting real satisfaction from life and feeling happy because the reality of the world around them often just brings out other disappointments. There is a way to fight it though. In his book, True Happiness, Martin Seligman, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, recommends daily gratitude exercise. It’s simple. Just think of events, people or things that make you feel grateful.

Number 3: They can’t form warm and friendly relationships.

Everyone wants to have the love and understanding that comes with close relationships, but it’s very difficult for intelligent people to talk to someone openly since they’re often misunderstood. They want to talk about important and meaningful events, not frivolous small talk. According to scientists, socializing for highly intelligent people is often the more painful experience than being alone and don’t even get me started on dating. If this all sounds familiar to you, try to reconsider the people around you and get rid of the ones that drain you emotionally.

Number 4: They have mental health issues.

Countless studies have confirmed that intellectuals often suffer from mental health problems. Scientists couldn’t find a direct correlation here, but fact is fact. The habit of constant over-analyzing leads to frequent reflections about life, death and the meaning of existence. All this in most cases leads to depression, but don’t worry, there’s a solution to this problem. It’s actually pretty simple, too. Make an effort to help others more often even strangers.

Number 5: They feel like they have to meet others’ expectations.

It probably comes as no surprise that intelligent people excel academically. That’s great, but even this can lead to some psychological issues. You see big academic achievements lead to even greater future expectations from others. This load often proves to be an unbearable burden, especially for gifted children who are deprived of a real childhood early on.

Number 6: They rarely make rational decisions.

A recent study has shown that in their daily life, intellectuals make just as many mistakes as everyone else. Their decisions are more prone to delusions and rely on intuition. Scientist, Igor Grossmann, at the University of Waterloo, suggests that such people should talk about their problems in the third person in order to emotionally distance themselves. This reduces bias and allows them to reach the most logical conclusions. Try this method out sometime. It will help you look at your problems from a different perspective.

Number 7: They’re not always successful.

The assumption that every smart person is successful couldn’t be more inaccurate. In fact, studies have shown that 85% of financial well-being depends on things, such as individuality and the ability to communicate and negotiate. No big brain or certain IQ number is on that list.

Number 8: They’re more stressed out.

Canadian researchers have found that highly intelligent people perceive simple everyday problems much more strongly. They had a habit of thinking over and over again about what’s happening and if it’s something negative, it only leads to chronic stress and anxiety. Again this is where psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s advice of learning how to temporarily disable negative feelings when we encounter a lot of problems comes in handy.

Number 9: They’re more likely to have health problems.

Do you usually go to bed pretty late? Well, according to scientists, this is a sign of above-average intelligence. Before you celebrate being a brainy night owl, you should know that this lifestyle is known to lead to heart disease. It’s also been found that alcohol and tobacco abuse are more common in people with highly developed intelligence because of the high level of anxiety they experience.

Number 10: They feel more comfortable alone.

If being alone were an art, intelligent people could be called great masters. They can even feel uncomfortable being around the wrong friends and this is simply because they’re too focused on achieving their goals and they usually choose doing that over spending time with people. If you are a loner by choice, that’s fine enough, but you really shouldn’t isolate yourself from others. Psychologists have proven that people who make time for loved ones feel much happier and satisfied with their lives.