Here’s a question: would you rather go out on a group activity, or stay at home and do your own thing?
Of course there are highly intelligent (high IQ) people who would choose the group activity, though researchers have found that highly intelligent people tend to be happier when they spend time alone.
Although many people value relationships, friendships, and spending time with people they really like, these individuals are happiest when they have less social interaction.
In this article, we’ll examine eleven common reasons behind this tendency.
Number one: Massive Amounts Of Time Spent Reading.
The intellect is greatly stimulated by reading.
Intelligence is actually increased by reading. It expands general knowledge, vocabulary and language skills . Those who read often tend to be intellectually active individuals who educate themselves by reading deeply and broadly over a wide range of subjects.
Highly intelligent people will read about anything from history, finance, science, art and current affairs.
Being around other people, especially in a social setting, can be very distracting for a reader. For this quite practical reason, high IQ people can find themselves spending a lot of time in solitude.
Number two: Take Time Making Decisions.
It is well understood by intelligent people that making good decisions often requires committed deliberation.
In order to go through their own process of weighing up options, they will need peace and quiet by themselves. They are careful not to rush into a situation and will often request more time. They prefer to consider a situation from all angles, having gathered as much information as possible, before deciding on a course of action.
Number three: Insusceptible to FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).
The fear of missing out (or FOMO) refers to a state of anxiety or restlessness resulting from the desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing. The way that intelligent people circumvent this fear is to put most if not all their attention onto whatever they are doing in that present moment.
They are able to lose themselves in the now and they find this satisfactory. As they are focused on the present, they are not easily distracted by what may be happening with other people somewhere else.
Number four: Different Sleep Schedules.
Research has shown that intelligence and bedtime are strongly correlated.
Intelligent people could well have different sleep cycles than people with a lower IQ. Generally speaking, those with a higher IQ tend to stay up later. There is a tendency for the clever folk to shift to the nocturnal side of life.
They are known to sleep in during the mornings and stay up late, often well past midnight and into the wee hours.
The reason for this could simply be that there are less distractions in the middle of the night and quiet, cerebral activity is better suited to this time. The result of this is that their schedules are usually out of sync with those of others, so they are less able to attend social gatherings.
Number five: Social Validation Holds Low Priority.
Regardless of one’s level of intelligence, human beings do require and seek out validation from others.
It is simply a part of human nature to desire acceptance and a certain level of validation. Where highly intelligent people differ is that they only seek validation from a small group of peers (who may also be high iq).
All the validation they need is provided by a small group of people, perhaps friends, perhaps colleagues. The intelligent remain outwardly unaffected by any negativity directed at them and they can be quite indifferent towards opinions about them.
They almost never take part in any type of popularity contest.
Number six: Productivity Is Highly Prized.
Usually, working in a group makes a lot of sense because individual weaknesses are covered by the collective strength of the group.
For the highly intelligent, unless they are directing the entire operation, working in a group setting can leave them frustrated as they find themselves many steps ahead of the other group members.
Smart, high iq people view themselves as being more productive in their work if they are unhindered by the clunky processes of their lesser mortal counterparts.
Number seven: Acceptance Of Not Fitting In.
High IQ people have long ago in their lives worked out that their way is the best way – for them.
They see little to no advantage in trying to change their distinct thought patterns and personalities to better match the ways of the group.
They have found that their goals are better met by being exactly as they are. Highly intelligent people are autonomous and silence is greatly valued, as then they can focus on the brilliance of their own thoughts.
Number eight: Appreciation Of Others Through Solitude.
We have established that highly intelligent people prefer time alone than time spent in groups, but this does not mean that they have renounced all contact with the outside world.
Most of them are in fact quite compassionate towards others and many have made huge advances in humanitarian fields. Spending time alone allows them to observe the world of humanity from a high level perspective and thus develop a greater appreciation for others.
When they do come into contact with others it is more often with those in their close circle. With them they can regain their social perspective and are able to reach deep levels of quality connection.
Number nine: A Differing Viewpoint Than The Crowd.
Intelligent people spend a lot of time thinking and observing, which allows them to develop more depth of insight than others. This enables them to recognize subtle patterns in the world around them.
Those who think differently tend to be the most brilliant inventors and creative geniuses. Their unique way of looking at things often leads them to insights others would miss, as well as solutions that don’t occur to most people.
Number ten: Time Spent In Self Reflection.
High IQ people are in constant examination of themselves and their inner state of being.
Once they embark upon a train of thought, they will examine the viability and rationality of the direction of thinking which they have started, and will continue this assessment until the mental journey has run its course.
Self reflection is best done in quiet and solitude, so this aspect merely adds to their preference of being alone.
Number eleven: Planning And Strategizing.
Intelligent people leave as little to chance as possible. They plan their moves and actions days, weeks and months in advance.
Naturally, when the situation changes, the plan will change accordingly. They will also spend time thinking about the best strategy to reach a given objective within the overall plan.
For an individual who mostly works alone, this planning and strategizing will also be done during their alone time.
Conclusion.
We cannot realistically say that all intelligent people do certain things or act in certain ways.
But there do appear to be certain behavioral patterns that occur more frequently among the studied groups of high IQ people.
Many of those studies conclude that highly intelligent people are generally more content being alone than in a group.