Being enthusiastic is worth 25 IQ points
The title comes from one of Kevin Kelly's aphorisms in his book Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I'd Known Earlier. This is a book that I find myself picking up from time to time, with something new standing out to me each time.
The aphorism I shared above resonated with me because I feel like the world could do with much more enthusiasm. Today, it can feel like the intelligent perspective is a cynical perspective, and enthusiasm is equated to naiveté. But Kelly's aphorism counters this. Enthusiasm gives you 25 IQ points but cynicism takes away 25 IQ points. Sounds about right to me!
I'm not saying that I can bring energy and enthusiasm into everything that I do, all the time. But I try my best to, and not only do I feel better for it, those around me feel better too. Not for nothing do we say 'enthusiam is contagious', right?