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A friend is convinced being smart makes him unhappy; to him, “simple” and “happy” are linked. He thinks less intelligent people can’t grasp the big picture, so they worry less. He thinks less intelligent people don’t have high standards, so they don’t experience failure as often. He thinks less intelligent people aren’t picky, so they tend to have more friends.
If you believe he’s wrong — and you’re right — you could argue it’s because he’s fallen prey to the Dunning-Kruger effect, a cognitive bias that causes people to believe they’re smarter and more skilled than they actually are.
Or you could just fall back on science. According to a study published in Psychological Medicine, levels of happiness are highest in the highest IQ groups and lowest in the lowest IQ groups. (Those categorized as having the highest IQs fell between 120 and 129, while those in the lowest category fell between 70 and 99.)
We found that IQ is associated with self-reported happiness, as levels of happiness were lowest in the lower IQ groups and highest in the higher IQ groups.
When looking at the data we saw that people with a lower IQ were less likely to be happier because of higher levels of socioeconomic disadvantage, such as lower income. They are also less likely to be happy because they need more help with skills of daily living, have poorer health, and report more symptoms of psychological distress.
Get smarter, get happier.
Easier said than done, though, especially since there’s often a difference in “educated” and “smart.” (Although research does show that educational attainment is linked with higher subjective well-being.)
Intelligence can be increased, but it takes work.
What you can do, though, starting today, is be more open. According to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that involved a meta-analysis of over 1,300 studies involving millions of people, openness is the only personality trait with a substantial correlation to intelligence.
Keep in mind “openness” isn’t self-disclosure. Openness is your willingness to engage in and explore new experiences, ideas, information, interpersonal relationships, etc.
Also keep in mind openness is one of the Big 5 personality traits. The others are neuroticism, extroversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness. And openness is one of the easiest personality traits to shape. It’s hard to be less neurotic. It’s hard to be more extroverted. It’s even hard to be more agreeable.
But openness simply means you have to be a little less certain. Less certain you’re right. Less certain you like certain things, and dislike others. More tolerant of ambiguity. More willing to ask questions. More willing to talk less, and listen more.
If you hope to get smarter — and, as a result, happier — don’t feel limited by your personality. And don’t try to change fundamental aspects of your personality. You don’t need to try to be more or less extroverted. You don’t need to try to be more or less neurotic. You don’t even have to try to be more or less agreeable. (Although research does show agreeable people tend to better connect with others and build positive relationships. So while being more agreeable may not make you smarter, it could make you happier.)
Just try to be more open to new ideas, new information, and new experiences.
As Jeff Bezos says:
The smartest people are constantly revising their understanding, reconsidering a problem they thought they’d already solved. They’re open to new points of view, new information, new ideas, contradictions, and challenges to their own way of thinking.
Science backs him up. A series of experiments published in Harvard Business Review show that while changing your mind might make you seem less smart, changing your mind is actually smarter. One example: Entrepreneurs who adapted, revised, and changed their positions during a pitch competition were six times more likely to win the competition.
The next time you question your intelligence, think about how often you’ve changed your mind in recent days. If the answer is “not often,” you’re likely not as open as you could be.
Instead, take the late Thinking, Fast and Slow author Daniel Kahneman’s approach. As Kahneman says, “No one enjoys being wrong, but I do enjoy having been wrong, because it means I am now less wrong than I was before.”
Intelligence isn’t found in certainty.
Wisdom isn’t found in certainty. Wisdom is knowing that while you might know a lot, there’s also a lot you don’t know. Wisdom is trying to find out what is right rather than trying to be right.
Try to be a little more open. You’ll learn new things. Have new experiences. Meet new people.
Those benefits alone are worth the effort.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.
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