People Who Are Genuinely Sharp Tend To Find These 11 Things Mentally Exhausting
New Africa | Shutterstock Sometimes, when you meet a person, you can just tell there’s something different about them. They’re a quick thinker, take to new concepts easily, and effortlessly process information. It’s a person who is genuinely sharp. Typically, when we think of someone being sharp and intelligent, we tend to only see the benefits, but not everything is positive. Because people who are genuinely sharp tend to find certain things mentally exhausting.
Health writers Adrienne Santos-Longhurst and Crystal Raypole explained, “To put it simply, mental exhaustion can happen when your brain receives too much stimulation or has to maintain an intense level of activity without rest.” Everyone has a different threshold for what exhausts them mentally. And for sharp people, this threshold may be a little lower because they’re already operating from a higher plane.
People who are genuinely sharp tend to find these 11 things mentally exhausting
1. Small talk
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For some people, small talk isn’t just an expected part of life, but a welcome one. Not everyone wants to have deep conversations all the time with everyone they meet. Instead, they’re perfectly content discussing the weather or the day’s news. That’s not true for people who are genuinely sharp. There’s nothing they can’t stand more than having to engage in a surface-level conversation without any real depth.
Psychotherapist Kaytee Gillis stated, “When you are not comfortable with small talk, everyday questions can be stressful. Small interactions such as getting asked ‘How are you?’ at the grocery store or by a barista confuse me.”
This is exactly how sharp people feel. They don’t want to be caught in a simplistic conversation in which they feel they don’t know how to respond to the other person. They crave depth, so small talk just isn’t cutting it. Having to engage in mere chit-chat before cutting to the chase drains them.
2. Illogical thinking
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A smart person can spot a logical fallacy from a mile away. This doesn’t mean they look down on the people around them or think of them as less intelligent. But people who are genuinely sharp tend to find these things mentally exhausting, and hate to deal with someone who consistently repeats untrue or confusing information.
Physician Susan Biali Haas explained that it’s best to not try to reason with people who are simply unreasonable themselves. “Don’t try to explain yourself or try to get them to understand you and empathize with your perspective,” she said. “They won’t, and you’ll just feel worse for trying.”
This is advice that sharp people can take to heart. As exhausting and draining as it may be to be around people who are clearly using inconsistent, or just plain incorrect, thought patterns, there’s really no way to change them. Some of the people they will encounter will just be like that, so it’s best to find a way to co-exist.
3. Mixed signals
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If someone is really sharp, there’s a good chance that they not only have a solid grasp of intellectual concepts, but also a strong emotional awareness. Being around people who aren’t straightforward with their feelings can be exhausting for this reason. A sharp person will always seek to understand the world around them, and they can’t do that if someone is being deliberately deceptive by sending mixed signals.
Psychotherapist Katherine Cullen explained that each individual has to decide what they will tolerate when it comes to mixed signals. “Regardless of the reasons someone may send mixed signals, it’s up to those of us who receive them to set firm boundaries around what we will and will not tolerate, as well as ask difficult questions to gather the information we need to proceed in our romantic and personal lives,” she noted.
Of course, when we think of mixed signals, we usually think of romantic relationships. However, mixed signals can come up in pretty much any kind of relationship or interaction. This is frustrating for sharp people because they know they’re not getting the straightforward truth. It exhausts them not only mentally, but also emotionally.
4. Over-explaining
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Have you ever been in a situation where you’re talking to someone and you find yourself having to explain every little detail of what you’re discussing? Sharp people hate this. They’re fast learners and come to understand new concepts pretty easily, so having to slow down their mental process to explain things that seem obvious to them can be taxing.
Gillis shared that some people actually overexplain because of past trauma they’ve experienced. “The act of overexplaining is often a defense mechanism and stress response that comes from that fear of needing to ‘explain’ oneself out of trouble,” she said.
So, for some people, overexplaining may feel like a necessity and is second nature at this point. That doesn’t mean it has any bearing on their intelligence. Generally, though, sharp people tend to avoid overexplaining if at all possible. They think quickly, and they want other people to keep up with them as they hop from one idea to another.
5. Unnecessary meetings
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Intellectuals are the kings and queens of saying that a meeting could have just been an email. Obviously, no one likes a meeting that was clearly not needed, but the sharper a person is, the more annoyed and exhausted they’ll be. They understand how valuable their time and energy is, and they don’t want to use it up on things that simply don’t matter.
Steven Rogelberg, author of “The Surprising Science of Meetings,” called meetings “the largest single cost that goes unevaluated and undiscussed on an organization’s balance sheet,” adding that they “result in immediate frustration.” He continued, “When we have a bad meeting, it sticks with us, and we ruminate, and it negatively affects our productivity.”
People who are genuinely sharp tend to find meetings like this mentally exhausting. Because few people really go into meetings with a sense of excitement, but it’s even worse for people who are really intelligent.
They can’t stand to waste time and participate in something that feels like it’s below their level of intelligence, so unnecessary meetings are a no-go for them. They know they could get more done if they didn’t have to stop and gather with everyone.
6. Lack of curiosity
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The sharper someone is, the more likely they are to be curious. They understand the basic facts of the situation, so they want to go deeper. Meanwhile, there are a lot of people in the world who are just fine sticking with the facts and not probing the topic any further. This is mentally exhausting for sharp people because they thrive off of curiosity and learning more.
Researcher Emily J. Campbell explained that there are actually benefits for our health and well-being that come from being curious. “Research has shown curiosity to be associated with higher levels of positive emotions, lower levels of anxiety, more satisfaction with life, and greater psychological well-being,” she revealed.
Some people might feel annoyed by curiosity, thinking it takes you down unnecessary rabbit holes and is really just a waste of time. But sharp people are onto something. Being curious can actually make you feel better, in addition to providing a nice mental boost. When people are unwilling to think outside the box, they suffer.
7. Hiding their intelligence
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People who are genuinely sharp aren’t just living their lives pretending to be less intelligent than they actually are. However, there are some situations where it might make sense for someone who prefers deep thinking to not reveal that, or even attempt to dumb themselves down. You might think it would feel like a nice break to not have to be mentally “on” all the time, but this is actually exhausting for sharp people.
In a study published in PeerJ, researchers noted, “Mental fatigue arises when an individual is exposed to lengthy periods of tasks or activities that require the use of executive functions such as working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control.”
So, for sharp people, hiding their intelligence isn’t some kind of break. It’s not like physical fatigue, where resting your body helps you feel better. Pretending to be someone you’re not takes a lot of self-control and concentration, which leads to mental exhaustion. It’s not a break for sharp people’s brains, but rather one more difficult thing for them to go through.
8. Busy work
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No one really enjoys busy work, but for someone who’s genuinely intelligent, it’s absolute torture. Sharp people want to use their brainpower in a valuable way, and they know that doing mindless, unchallenging work is not the way to do that. For some people, the occasional busy work assignment may feel acceptable because it gives them a chance to rest a bit, but sharp people find it mentally exhausting to compress their minds in this way.
Barbara Larson, an executive professor of management at D’Amore-McKim School of Business, said, “It can be very demotivating to the remote employee. It’s a sign of lack of trust and lack of care. The real tragedy of busy work is in the opportunity that is lost. There’s so much that could be done within that time that would be beneficial to both the employee and the firm.”
Sharp people have a desire to always be putting their minds to good use. Busy work is obviously not a way to do this. They know that their time could be spent doing something more important that would be much more beneficial and consequential. Doing some simple busy work isn’t a break for them. Instead, it’s a chance for them to feel mentally exhausted.
9. Pointless conversations
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The concept of pointless conversations can mean different things to different people. For some, it may be a chat that’s repetitive or time-consuming. Sharp people are likely to see conversations as pointless when they don’t offer them any real value. They want to learn new things and be introduced to new ideas while maintaining their productivity. A conversation that rambles on with no real purpose doesn’t provide that.
Author Dan Lyons explained that having a tendency to talk too much is really understandable given the way our world works. “It’s not entirely our fault,” he said. “We live in a world that doesn’t just encourage overtalking but practically demands it, where success is measured by how much attention we can attract: get a million Twitter followers, become an Instagram influencer, make a viral video, give a TED talk.”
Sharp people certainly understand that talking a lot — maybe even too much — is just a reality of our society. Still, they prefer to engage in meaningful conversations that they can really take something away from. A conversation that goes on forever with no real point to it doesn’t fit the bill. They’re focused on quality over quantity, because anything else just drains them.
10. Poorly designed systems
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Whether it’s the way the government functions, the hierarchy at their workplace, or the way the line works at their favorite coffee shop, people who are genuinely sharp tend to find these things mentally exhausting. They can easily pick up on systems that are inefficient and disorganized. Some people may be perfectly happy just going along with the status quo because that’s the way things have always been done, but those who are sharper crave a better way of doing things.
Author and counselor Meg Selig said that “[needing] to find a better way to do something” is one of the most common reasons that people find themselves getting annoyed. “Annoyance can be a spur to creative problem-solving,” she argued. “It can even be a mother of invention. What could you do to make your situation better?”
So, it makes sense that genuinely sharp people would find poorly designed systems mentally exhausting. They frustrate them to no end, and, in some situations, can even cause anxiety or intense worry, meaning they contribute heavily to their mental load. There’s only so much someone can hold before it all becomes too much.
11. Ignoring the obvious
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Much like sharp people don’t like overexplaining the obvious, they don’t like ignoring it either. The problem is, sometimes things are obvious to them that aren’t obvious to others. Their intelligence means they can pick up on subtleties more easily, so something may seem extremely obvious to them while it doesn’t look that way to everyone else.
Health journalist Keri Wiginton described mental exhaustion this way: “It’s kind of like physical tiredness, except it’s your mind instead of your muscles. It tends to show up when you focus on a mentally tough task for a while. You might also feel this kind of brain drain if you’re always on alert or stressed out.”
If something is clearly obvious to a sharp person, but not to everyone else, it will feel like the world is ignoring what’s plain to see. This can cause a huge amount of stress and frustration. It makes sharp people feel like they have to accommodate others and slow down so the world around them can catch up. That creates mental exhaustion.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
