Excitement
Excitement means just seeing novel scenes, not also looking forward to future events.
People use excitement in two ways. People get excited when they see something new, like a city. People also get excited about future events, like a big party or purchase.
When people say they are excited about a big party or purchase, they are looking forward to feeling a positive emotion in the future, like affection or pride. This use of excitement is best understood by focusing on those future emotions.
For this website, excitement will just refer to what you feel when you see novel scenes.
People use excitement in two ways. People get excited when they see something new, like a city. People also get excited about future events, like a big party or purchase.
When people say they are excited about a big party or purchase, they are looking forward to feeling a positive emotion in the future, like affection or pride. This use of excitement is best understood by focusing on those future emotions.
For this website, excitement will just refer to what you feel when you see novel scenes.
Excitement and pleasing scenery are different emotions.
Pleasing scenery and excitement are both positive emotions you feel when you look at scenery. While you feel excitement when looking at novel scenes, you feel pleasing scenery when you see lush scenes. An unfamiliar desert scene makes you feel excitement, but not pleasing scenery. A familiar riverside scene makes you feel pleasing scenery, but not excitement. You can feel both excitement and pleasing scenery if you see a scene that is both novel and lush.
Excitement is relatively weak.
Compared to emotions like love or humor, excitement is weak. This makes it difficult to isolate it mentally. However, there are situations where you can isolate it and gauge its effect on your happiness.
You feel the most excitement when you first travel to new countries or new cities. You also feel weaker versions when the seasons change and you see the leaves turn color or the first snowfall. You also feel weak excitement when you look at glossy magazines with lots of photography.
You can also sense when excitement is missing the second time you look at scenery. You feel excitement, for example, the first time you visit a new city but not the second time. You feel excitement when you see the season's first snowfall but not the second. You feel excitement the first time you look at a glossy magazine but not the second.
The urge we all have to see what's around the corner or over the hill is the urge to feel excitement.
If you don't feel excitement, you will feel boredom.
Excitement and boredom operate like eating and hunger. If you don't eat, you get hungry. And the longer you don't eat, the hungrier you get. If you don't feel excitement, you feel boredom. And the longer it's been since you felt excitement, the stronger boredom you feel.
Boredom never becomes so strong that it becomes a distraction, like hunger can. However, it can be a significant contributor to unhappiness. You probably feel significant boredom if you don't feel the excitement of traveling somewhere new at least once a year.
You should consider the need for regular excitement in your daily life.
To enjoy excitement and avoid boredom, you can look for opportunities to enjoy novel scenery. You could, for example, choose a career or position that involves travel, particularly to new locations. You could put a high priority on regular vacations and weekend trips to new destinations. Television, movies and magazines can also be a convenient way to view new scenery when travel is not.
Excitement can lead to bad vacation and real estate decisions.
You will feel excitement the first time you visit a vacation destination or tour an open house. You will not feel that excitement on an ongoing basis, but many people don't explicitly consider this when deciding how much they like a vacation or house. It's difficult to separate the effect of excitement to judge how you will enjoy a destination or house on an ongoing basis.
You can address this issue when buying real estate by taking numerous house tours to remove its novelty. You cannot do the same for vacations. All you can do is remember that destinations are rarely better the second time.
Pleasing scenery and excitement are both positive emotions you feel when you look at scenery. While you feel excitement when looking at novel scenes, you feel pleasing scenery when you see lush scenes. An unfamiliar desert scene makes you feel excitement, but not pleasing scenery. A familiar riverside scene makes you feel pleasing scenery, but not excitement. You can feel both excitement and pleasing scenery if you see a scene that is both novel and lush.
Excitement is relatively weak.
Compared to emotions like love or humor, excitement is weak. This makes it difficult to isolate it mentally. However, there are situations where you can isolate it and gauge its effect on your happiness.
You feel the most excitement when you first travel to new countries or new cities. You also feel weaker versions when the seasons change and you see the leaves turn color or the first snowfall. You also feel weak excitement when you look at glossy magazines with lots of photography.
You can also sense when excitement is missing the second time you look at scenery. You feel excitement, for example, the first time you visit a new city but not the second time. You feel excitement when you see the season's first snowfall but not the second. You feel excitement the first time you look at a glossy magazine but not the second.
The urge we all have to see what's around the corner or over the hill is the urge to feel excitement.
If you don't feel excitement, you will feel boredom.
Excitement and boredom operate like eating and hunger. If you don't eat, you get hungry. And the longer you don't eat, the hungrier you get. If you don't feel excitement, you feel boredom. And the longer it's been since you felt excitement, the stronger boredom you feel.
Boredom never becomes so strong that it becomes a distraction, like hunger can. However, it can be a significant contributor to unhappiness. You probably feel significant boredom if you don't feel the excitement of traveling somewhere new at least once a year.
You should consider the need for regular excitement in your daily life.
To enjoy excitement and avoid boredom, you can look for opportunities to enjoy novel scenery. You could, for example, choose a career or position that involves travel, particularly to new locations. You could put a high priority on regular vacations and weekend trips to new destinations. Television, movies and magazines can also be a convenient way to view new scenery when travel is not.
Excitement can lead to bad vacation and real estate decisions.
You will feel excitement the first time you visit a vacation destination or tour an open house. You will not feel that excitement on an ongoing basis, but many people don't explicitly consider this when deciding how much they like a vacation or house. It's difficult to separate the effect of excitement to judge how you will enjoy a destination or house on an ongoing basis.
You can address this issue when buying real estate by taking numerous house tours to remove its novelty. You cannot do the same for vacations. All you can do is remember that destinations are rarely better the second time.
For more about emotions, visit: Happiness Dissected