Why Are We Perpetually Restless And Unsatisfied? - Deepstash

Why Are We Perpetually Restless And Unsatisfied?

There’s a simple reason for that: as expressed by researchers for the Review of General Psychology, If satisfaction and pleasure were permanent, there might be little incentive to continue seeking further benefits or advances.”

In other words, feeling contented wasn’t good for the species.

Our ancestors worked harder and strove further because they evolved to be perpetually perturbed, and so we remain today.

27

363 reads

CURATED FROM

IDEAS CURATED BY

xarikleia

“An idea is something that won’t work unless you do.” - Thomas A. Edison

The 18th century poet Samuel Johnson said, “My life is one long escape from myself.” Sounds “‘mad, bad and sad”? The truth is, we’re not wired to feel content or satisfied. Ever. Here’s the surprising psychology of why dissatisfaction is hardwired and why that’s a good thing.

The idea is part of this collection:

How to Feel Better About Yourself

Learn more about mentalhealth with this collection

How to practice self-compassion

How to identify and challenge negative self-talk

How to build self-confidence

Related collections

Read & Learn

20x Faster

without
deepstash

with
deepstash

with

deepstash

Personalized microlearning

100+ Learning Journeys

Access to 200,000+ ideas

Access to the mobile app

Unlimited idea saving

Unlimited history

Unlimited listening to ideas

Downloading & offline access

Supercharge your mind with one idea per day

Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.

Email

I agree to receive email updates