Over the last few lessons,
we've examined some of the potential woes and wonders of high sensation seeking.
But you might be wondering how to tip the scales and get
more good than bad from this personality trait.
In this lesson, I'll give you five recommendations for doing just that.
First, stop and think.
High sensation seekers are known for their ability
to act and have their body figure out what to do.
It's often one of the things that they're most proud of doing.
However, every now and then,
it's good to stop and think to decide if
the activity or action being considered is really worth the risk.
Second, separate sensation seeking from novelty seeking.
Occasionally when people get bored,
what they're looking for is something new.
The newness doesn't have to come from thrown adventure seeking,
novelty can come without a risk.
The newness for example,
could come from doing something routine in a really different way.
Third, increase empathy.
In an earlier lesson,
we learned that sometimes high sensation seekers may
have trouble seeing things from another person's point of view.
The more that high sensation seeker can increase their empathy for others,
the more it might help these relationships.
In fact, I think increasing empathy can be helpful for everyone.
So how can you increase empathy?
In his article, the six habits of highly empathic people,
Roman Krznaric gives a few tips to increase empathy.
For instance, cultivate your curiosity about strangers, challenge your prejudices,
discover commonalities between yourself and others,
or even try on another's life in your imagination.
The fourth tip is to try reducing disinhibition and boredom susceptibility.
The two parts of sensation seeking personality that are likely to get
a high sensation secure in trouble are disinhibition and boredom susceptibility.
So how can you reduce these?
There is some evidence that mindfulness meditation can help.
Meditation can be a powerful tool to fight off boredom.
Now, I know that meditation might not seem like
the most exciting activity especially to a high sensation seeker,
but they can be big benefits to both high and low sensation seekers alike.
Here are some suggestions.
First, start small.
Even two minutes is a great place to begin.
Understand the benefits.
Do a little research on some of the benefits of mindfulness meditation,
I think you'll be surprised.
In fact, I provided a few links in the readings this week for you.
And, do it your own way.
Meditation doesn't have to mean sitting in a quiet room for hours,
instead, try a walking meditation.
My fifth and final tip has to do with finding
out what sensation seeking activities are best for you.
High sensation seekers do best when they promote
healthy activities like adventure sports.
If you don't have a lot of friends who are high sensation seekers consider sharing
experience seeking activities with your average or low sensation seeking friends.
These tips can help make sure you're getting the
best from a high sensation seeking personality.
In fact, I think they're good tips for all of us.
Kenneth CarterProfessor of Psychology
