Trait-curious people are accustomed to being teased for their fixations and passions. For example, calling someone like them a "computer nerd" or "foodie" might be a way of conveying the message, "give it up, already!"
However, this gentle teasing is easily outweighed by the benefits these people derive. According to a new study by Todd Kashdan of George Mason University:
"People who exhibit high levels of curiosity...experience higher levels of satisfaction with life than their more disengaged peers...[They] report finding a greater sense of meaning in life, which is a better predictor of sustainable, lasting happiness [emphasis added]."People who are less curious are more likely to derive pleasure from sex or drugs and less likely to experience the feeling of flow, the feeling of complete and energized focus in an activity, with a high level of enjoyment and fulfillment as described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
2 comments:
Since a person "has the ability to cultivate or train her- or himself to be" more trait-curious, and since trait-curious individuals find "a greater sense of meaning in life," we should probably spend MORE time on FEWER things in school. Students always seem to be stretched so thin...
Tad,
I totally agree that we should have fewer periods that are longer and spend less time on the 'hamster cage wheel' that it feels like we're on.
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