There 's a sort of fundamental conservativism in our thinking air, which is to take this terrible inevitability and tell a nice story about it. And i think that's foolish. I think if somebody offered me a pill that would give me another 50 years of happy life, of course i would take it. You won't want to get anything done without that kind of urgency.
Some people think humans are natural pleasure seekers. But not psychologist Paul Bloom. In his new book, “The Sweet Spot,” Paul says we’re pain seekers, too. Just think about all the uncomfortable things we do for fun — eating spicy food, climbing treacherous mountains, watching scary movies, engaging in BDSM. Why do that stuff? According to Paul, it’s because pain can enhance pleasure, chosen suffering can make you more resilient, and adversity can suffuse your life with meaning. We can all benefit from a little discomfort, and in this intimate conversation with Next Big Idea Club curator Susan Cain, Paul explains how to fit more of it into our lives.
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