Why adults are less excitable than children .. elders even less? Doesn't less excitement mean less enjoyment?

Question

Our capability to enjoy seems to keep reducing as we grow until a stage comes when it appears nothing can really excite or give extreme joy ...... and then the grandparents turn to the grandchildren for enjoyment. Just wonder what connection age and experience has with the ability to get joy and excitement.

Answer 1

IGNORANCE IS BLISS!!

Answer 2

May that 'wonder what connection.......' linger a little longer ! It is precious .... the 'seeking' about this 'wonder' will enhance the perception !
Well, children live totally in the moment (unawares... that is the problem!), and so experience the situation TOTALLY (that is the way to ensure joy & excitement).
Adults, elders, gather too much garbage and this garbage of various problems, expectations, anxieties of yet- to-be-fulfilled desires etc ENSURES that they live in their thoughts most of the time, and thoughts are never about the ever changing present ! Even when planning about a future, a person has to slip out of the present and go to his thoughts, which is in the past (may be the very previous moment). As the age advances, this worrying grows cumulatively. The child was very happy with a toy car, and as an adult, he needs not just a 'real' car, but the latest model always ! And so goes (on....) the 'life'

Answer 3

You donot enjoy the same toy that you loved when you were a little kid. why? same is the case with anything that you aquired in the first place. They lose their attraction. The law of diminishing returns.

Over a period of time, as we grow we learn the connection between excitement/enjoyment and the price we pay for that. The hidden "cost benefit" ratio becomes strikingly eveident.

A mother( or father) would rather choose a nice dress for their child than spend the money on themselves. A paradigm shift takes place.

But the garand parents/Grandchildren relationship is unique. In this relationship nothing is demaned of the grandparents. No committment. No responsibilities.equally the grandkids donot expect anything from the grandparents except pure love and affection. Unconditional love. That is why there is enjoyment more.

Answer 4

Its a failure to embark out into the new.
A failure of focusing on the fact that we will be gone one day, and there is too much to see and do before we go.

Its also a bit of fatigue.
With excitement comes labor. And the older people had the worst jobs, which were highly manual.
So after a life time of labor, sometimes its just best for others to bask in what they have created -- a family.

To each his own.
But its not been popular until recent years that life after 50 can be enjoyable and exciting. so i figure the upcoming generations will in fact live longer into their years and start appearing more excited about things.

Plus, take into account the financial situation of most elderly people. Unless you had a nest egg working for you all the years, youre dependant on some type of failing social security system, that offers you a umble lifestyle.

youve been to the parks the beaches enough. Excitement comes in doing other stuff.
Now one can argue, camping is free, beaches are free..well do tat enough times and it only becomes work in preparing work as you get there, and work cleaning everything as you return.
Most elderly people dont want to work that hard.

So its a combination of things, where best I can say is when Im 60 I hope to have as much zest for life as I do now.
It would simply be a matter of expanding my horizons and doing those thing sI walways wanted to do as a child, and constantly thinking up new things to pursue and explore -- in different cities, then dfferent countries - because I keep in mind -- I wont always be here.

Answer 5

Excitement just like happiness is a "state of the mind". We "choose" to be excited or happy. There is nothing wrong to have our excitement level decreased as we grow older. This is the natural course of things. WE become accustomed to things that we no longer find them "exciting". The good thing is that, an adult can do something about it . A change of attitude will change everything. If an adult goes along with the tide and be complacent about it, doing nothing, then an adult will miss the really exciting parts of life. It is just a frame of mind. One's attitude should be, positive and optimistic, find the challenge of making "old stuff" exciting. Could you imagine an old lady canoeing in the wild rapids of a river? That is just an example. Adults limit themselves to "stay" less excited by their own attitude. As wise men say, "It is all in the mind, my dear."

Answer 6

It has little to do with enjoying or not.

It's part of the maturation process in learning, experiencing, absorbing, archiving, and recalling.

The child seems more easily excited primarily because the stimuli is likely more than the brain can handle/process, in the sense that it may be NEW and a child is more likely to feel bombarded than an adult.

If you took a child, and the time, and subjected the child to any particular stimuli, you'd notice in your case study, that over a period of time, in experiencing the stimuli, the child would seem to be less affected.

Steven Wolf

Answer 7

Excitement usually comes with things that are new, because the unknown is intriguing. As you get older, you gain more knowledge about life, and so things that are unknown to youngsters and cause excitement, become part of routine. Surroundings and hype also become routine and so less exciting. For example, when you are young, Christmas is a magical time because you don't know that Santa isn't real, and the atmosphere of Christmas, because it only happens once a year, is still new. As you grow older, you learn the truth about Santa, and the Christmas routine becomes ... well routine! So, you don't tend to get as excited about things you are used to.

It isn't neccesarily that you don't want to be surprised and excited, it's just that you can't because you've already seen it all.

Furthermore, as you get older, your body isn't always cut out for exciting things, such as ... snow boarding and bungee jumping, so excitement becomes limited.

I just hope I never lose the ability to get excited about life.

Answer 8

well, i believe that this exciteability doesn't always leave with age. I think one can retain it by having more interest in life and keep the attitude that something new is learned everyday regardless of how old you are. Also, maybe with age we learn to be more peaceful and not get so wrapped up in our emotions. We might have more control of ourselves with age. I think the loss of extreme joy might be a side effect of this, but i think it is one that people could avoid through keeping an attitude that is still interested in what life has to offer!

Your brother,
nate

Answer 9

The capacity to enjoy doesn't change, its just taken in context relative to everything that we've experienced. A hundred years ago a ten year old child would have been thrilled with a little stick doll that jumped by moving side pegs. Now that ten year old kid would toss that stick doll.

If my three year old son is trying to draw a flower, he will enthusiastically wipe a crayon back and forth 'til he has a mass of colors and lines that to him is a flower. If do it, I will because of my age and experience draw that flower in a more controlled method. It doesn't mean I enjoy drawing it or the end result any less, its just means I do it differently.

As people get older, they often do get more reserved and in control in their emotions of all types. Energy conservation :)

Answer 10

Easy! Because when something is new, you are excited by it. It does and doesn't have to do with age more so than life experience. If you've done more, less excites you because you've already done it. But if you've been sheltered, a simple trip like say going to the mall can be as exciting as jumping from a plane.

Answer 11

As a child, everything is new. Life is filled with wonder. Everything is exciting, funny, tragic, scary. Your emotional volume is turned up full blast. As you age & your experiences increase, you start to lose your sense of wonder. Your emotional volume is turned down to a whisper. You become jaded. Complacent. Repetition breeds boredom. Been there, done that. You don't get as scared, you don't cry or laugh as much. Nothing is new anymore. It's old hat. Nothing is as exciting.

I would rather remain somewhat childlike. To keep my passion. To keep my sense of wonder. As an artist, I try to see the world with fresh eyes. I still get really excited. My emotions can be extreme. This is a gift & a curse. I would rather cry more & laugh more. I would rather be more alive. It gives me more to write about & it makes life more intense & meaningful. I kind of feel sorry for people that lose their emotions, who become dull as zombies going through the motions of life...but maybe this is the way it has to be. As you get much older you calm down and aren't as excited about life because there's less of it ahead of you. The older you get, the more you want to slow down. In old age, you don't have the energy to be excited anymore. You're ready for a rest...

Just a thought...

:)