12/06/2024

Thinking Hurts

Here’s one thing to do about it

It hurts to think. A huge research project that studied 5,000 people in 29 countries found that we would rather do almost anything else than think, because it causes us to feel irritation, annoyance, frustration, and stress. The study covered a wide range of professions, from healthcare to the military, and the results were the same across different groups, jobs, and kinds of thinking.

And the more we have to think, the more we don’t like it. That’s why we so often respond with mental tricks and stereotypes to avoid thinking through a new problem or situation. And, presumably, why we are so capable of not noticing—or not thinking about—the mass amounts of information that we find overwhelming us every day, from basic sensory inputs to the pings and dings from our digital devices.

We’ve all had the experience of driving some distance without being consciously aware of all the sights and sounds that flowed past us as we kept the car safely on the road. Or zoning out during a meeting and suddenly snapping to attention, only to realize that we’ve missed much of whatever was said in the last 10 minutes when our boss was droning on and on.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Psychology Today.