The Need to Experience

Need

We need to engage in life and its experiences.

Experiences we seek include:

Having fun, playing games and enjoying the company of others.

Taking physical risks such as driving fast or skiing.

Meeting new people and making friends.

Working on exciting new projects.

Finding romantic partners and engaging in physical relationships.

Changing jobs and employers.

Visiting new and exotic places.

Example

A person gets bored with their job and relationships, so they move to a new city where they take up on a completely new life.

A company offers exciting travel adventures, walking up remote mountains, canoeing down rapids and so on. They have many customers.

A science teacher makes lessons fun with lots of practical demonstrations and active experiments.

Discussion

Our ability to think and communicate means we can learn without doing. Yet experience is often the best teacher, even though it can be a harsh one. While we may understand what we are told, we seldom fully appreciate it until we have gained visceral experience.

It has been found that experiences make us happier than material possessions. While we want things, we enjoy life. There are huge industries based on providing pleasurable experience, from vicarious movies to travel companies. Even coffee shops focus on the experience of receiving and drinking coffee rather than just presenting an effective vending machine.

Even when it involves taking risks, we seek experience. In fact the riskier the action, the greater the thrill and the more memorable it becomes. We can, however, reduce danger by experiencing it indirectly. This is why we watch movies, read stories, and so on.

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