Are Intellectuals Suffering a Crisis of Meaning?

Their most striking finding was substantially diminished levels of meaningfulness and subjective well-being among the giftedness as potential group compared to both the giftedness as achievement group and the control group. The self-compassion findings are also relevant here, because many children with high intelligence may feel too much pressure to live up to societal expectations based on their label as “gifted.” The Holahans suggest that helping gifted individuals “to appreciate and accept their achievements within a balanced and realistic view” might increase their self-compassion, thus increasing meaning and happiness in life.

Source: blogs.scientificamerican.com