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  • Happiness: we all crave the feeling of contentment and satisfaction.

  • But not everyone actually achieves it.

  • For many individuals the presence of a great family life and a flourishing career is often not enough.

  • A smart individual can have all these things and more but still feel a sense of loneliness and sadness.

  • Here are six reasons why smart people sometimes struggle to find happiness.

  • Number 1: intelligent people overanalyze.

  • It's common for an individual of high intelligence to overthink and analyze every aspect of their life.

  • While this analytical nature can be a great asset,

  • constantly analyzing everything in your life only leads to frustration and exhaustion.

  • Your knowledge and life experiences have taught you to have a critical eye.

  • This is a burden that many people don't carry simply because they don't think on this level,

  • plus there are the timeless dilemmas and philosophical issues that seem to have no solution.

  • The more you try to figure it all out, the less satisfied you become in your quest for understanding.

  • In this case, the saying "ignorance is bliss" is true.

  • Number 2: intelligent people have high standards.

  • Smart individuals like to hold everything in their life to high standards,

  • and the failure to reach these standards ultimately leads to disappointment:

  • be it your career, your relationships, or even the talent and skill level that you bring to your daily activities.

  • If your expectations are unrealistic, prepare to be disappointed,

  • and the greater and more unrealistic the expectations, the greater the letdown when these hopes aren't met.

  • Number 3: intelligent people are extremely self-critical.

  • Unhappiness for highly intelligent people also stems from their deep-thinking nature.

  • When you compare yourself to those high standards, you'll blame your failures on your own shortcomings.

  • This self-critical nature directly combats your happiness and then fault-finding becomes your new normal.

  • Intelligent people often think back to events of the past,

  • into situations in which they behaved poorly or made the wrong choice.

  • You may not realize it, but this constant regret over past decisions is robbing you of happiness every day.

  • But those who are able to forgive themselves and work beyond these issues are on the path to happiness.

  • Number 4: intelligent people are overly ambitious.

  • It's very difficult for a person of high intelligence to be satisfied with what they already have.

  • Your complex mind causes you to constantly seek something bigger and better, a greater purpose if you will.

  • This drive to achieve can make you miss the simple things in everyday life that bring others a great deal of satisfaction.

  • Your mind craves intellectual stimulation, and you aren't satisfied until you find it. Then you need more of it.

  • For this mindset, the saying "stop and smell the roses" can be helpful.

  • Number 5: intelligent people are often misunderstood.

  • We all want to be understood and accepted for who we are.

  • It's great to share meaningful conversations with a like-minded person

  • and to find someone who shares your own world views and philosophies.

  • This can be quite difficult to find for a person of high intelligence.

  • When you feel like no one can connect with you on your level, you feel alone and misunderstood.

  • It's been proven that people with high levels of intelligence don't need to socialize as much as others.

  • But the need for human interaction is still there.

  • When you have a high intelligence,

  • you just prefer to talk about meaningful and fascinating things rather than trivial subjects such as food or weather or other people.

  • Number 6: intelligent people often develop psychological issues.

  • Numerous studies have shown links between psychiatric problems and high intelligence.

  • Anxiety and bipolar disorder are among the most common.

  • It's not certain whether these disorders come from having a brilliant mind or not,

  • but the prevalence of the connections cannot be ignored.

  • Even in the absence of severe mental disorders, if you have exceptionally high intelligence,

  • chances are you may struggle with depression because of the reasons mentioned above.

  • When you constantly think on these things you may also find yourself reflecting on life and death and the purpose of existence.

  • Topics that are often accompanied by feelings of sadness. In the end, you hold the key to your own happiness.

  • Sure, the circumstances around you play a big part, but that doesn't mean they determine your happiness.

  • Sometimes you have to adjust your perspective and priorities to really find this happiness.

  • What are your thoughts about this? How do you find happiness in your struggles? Let us know in the comments.

  • Also, we'd love to thank our sponsor Betterhelp, an affordable online counseling platform by real psychologists.

  • If you are interested in learning more, it's in the video description below.

Happiness: we all crave the feeling of contentment and satisfaction.

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