Life is quite easier for the intelligent ones because they have the ability to solve problems effectively compare to others. They are more educated and more successful than someone with average or bellow-average intelligence. However, much like all good things, people with high intelligent also have their own disadvantage, some which may even come as a surprise to others.
The less intellectually gifted among us might assume that the only thing standing between them and complete fulfillment is their intellect. If only they could be better at math or science, they’d definitely be able to leave their boring dead-end jobs and lead a life of utter contentment and happiness. And most of them would be wrong, as high intellect isn’t helpful if satisfaction is your end goal.
On first look, it may seem to not make sense at all, but think about it: Highly intelligent people grow up thinking they can accomplish anything. However, as the real world loves to remind us time and again, no one can achieve anything they want, no matter how gifted they are. So due to unrealistic expectations of themselves, the highly intelligent are prone to being less satisfied with their achievements, even if they’re perfectly good achievements on their own.
This isn’t just some crackpot assertion, either; studies on high-IQ individuals over several decades indicate that high intelligence is directly related to feelings of not having lived up to one’s potential in later periods of our lives.
Less likely To Have Sex In Adolescence
If you’ve ever seen a movie on teenage life, you’ll have come across the oft-repeated “virgin nerd” trope. There’s always that one student who’s supersmart and good at studies. They talk down at others, do smart people stuff, and graduate without ever having found a sexual partner. Of course, we know those people go on to become successful startup founders and other rich professionals in the future, as we’ve all seen The Social Network. So the lack of sex is definitely not true for later life, but what about the adolescent stereotype?
Science says that the movies got that one thing right for sure. Many studies show that smart people are much less likely to have sex at younger ages. They don’t have to be outright nerds, either, as the data was uniform for anyone with a high IQ score compared to those with average IQs.
More Likely To Be Overwhelmed Under Pressure
The
ability to perform under pressure is an increasingly valuable trait in
most modern workplaces, as it’s a competitive and tough world out there.
It also happens to be one of the things we brag about on our CVs,
regardless of whether it’s true or not. Many people are naturally good
at delivering under high-stress situations, and as studies have found,
they’re largely people with lower intelligence levels than their high-IQ
counterparts.
As counter-intuitive as it may sound, studies
show that highly intelligent people are more likely to crumble under
pressure, especially when the end goal is performance- and
reward-related. One of the reasons may be that they tend to be more
anxious about the outcome than the others, as they’re used to breezing
through challenges in the earlier, less competitive stages of their
lives.
Surprisingly, they perform better when the goals are
rearranged to be learning-oriented than based on results. Well, it’s a
good thing that most jobs allow you to do your best and learn rather
than outright fire you if you don’t meet your monthly targets, then.
More Mental Disorders
There’s no doubt that intelligent people lead healthier lives and have higher life expectancies, as you’d expect them to. While it may seem intuitive and expected, the reasons for this aren’t exactly known.
If we talk about mental health issues like mood and anxiety disorders, however, studies indicate the exact opposite. In a study conducted on Mensa members, who are the top two percent of the general population in terms of IQ, researchers found that psychological disorders like anxiety are more prevalent. They also found that the subjects were three times more likely to have environmental allergies than the national average, something that they can’t really explain.
Their ongoing theory is that higher intelligence also translates to a more hyper body, which reacts to external challenges in a more severe manner than usual. For an example, a highly intelligent person is perhaps more susceptible to anxiety at the workplace due to having a better understanding of the gravity of a stressful situation.
Worse Social Relations In Adulthood
It doesn’t take a detailed scientific study to know that as you grow older, your friend circle diminishes, which may have something to do with not having as much of a life as you did when you were younger. It’s a natural part of growing up, and almost everyone goes through it. What is surprising, however, is that intelligent people are much more likely to have troubled relationships with their social groups than others in their adult years.
In a study conducted at Stockholm University, they looked at how IQ affects adjustment for adolescents of varying IQ scores. They found that highly intelligent people were somewhat worse at adjusting to an aging life when it came to friend relations. They also tend to be less satisfied with life in general as they grow older, though we’ll get to that one in detail below.
Less Financially Responsible
Financial responsibility is often much more important than earning a lot, as long as the bare necessities are covered. Many older rich people would tell you that every penny saved is a penny earned, and they would be correct, as there’s arguably no point earning a lot if you don’t know how to keep it. It should seem obvious that more intelligent people would get that better than others, though according to a study in America, the reality isn’t what you might expect.
The study, done by a researcher at Ohio State University, involved 7,400 Americans in their forties and examined how their IQ scores compared to their average earnings. He found a definite relationship between IQ scores and high earnings, as every IQ point translated to an additional income of $234 to $616 per year. Counterintuitively, the study also showed that people with higher IQs are a bit more likely to be in financial difficulty than those with lower scores.
