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Oct. 23, 2023 - Dennis Prager Show
05:19
This Way Of Thinking Could Make You Happier
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Happiness Hour, and the subject is how important the realization that human nature is deeply flawed is to happiness, not just to a moral understanding of the universe.
It's critical, because if you think people are basically good, you're somewhat of a foolish person, and you...
Have decided to ignore all of human history to come to such a truly absurd realization.
Human nature is basically good, is just idiotic and dangerous, because then you blame society, you blame outside forces for all the bad they do.
But I'm not talking about that.
That I've talked about often, and I will again at some point.
I'm talking about happiness.
It's the happiness hour.
If you think people are basically good, you are far more likely to be constantly disappointed.
Whereas if you understand people are not basically good, you are far more likely to be constantly exhilarated.
Big difference, isn't it?
Wow, despite human nature, look at all these good people in my life.
As opposed to, oh, human nature is good.
How did I get stuck with A, B, and C? Not good people or people who do a lot of bad.
That's important.
When I looked at what happened, the massacre of Jews in Israel, the worst day in Jewish history since the Holocaust, the burning alive of families, it's beyond belief.
But it isn't beyond belief to me.
As a student of Jewish history and one who wrote a book on anti-Semitism, this is what, unfortunately, they do.
There's no hatred like Jew hatred.
And it doesn't shock me.
I didn't expect better from Israel's enemies at any time in my lifetime.
They are the heirs to the Nazis.
They want to wipe out the Jews of Israel like the Nazis wanted to wipe out the Jews of Europe.
So my heart breaks for these people.
My heart breaks.
But I'm not stunned.
Surprise is a big factor in unhappiness.
If you're not surprised, you're...
You're more likely to handle it okay.
And it's true in the micro, in your own life.
If you're naive about human nature, you're going to have a lot more unhappiness than if you are rational about human nature.
1-8 Prager 776 is the number.
How does this strike you as a piece of advice?
Okay, let's see.
Sacramento, California, and Stephen, hello.
Hi, Dennis.
Hi.
Thank you for taking my call.
I love this topic because I used to always be angry.
I was angry all the time.
And it was because I expected people to do things.
And an example, one of the days I figured out what my problem was, I always expected people to hold doors open for me.
And if they didn't, I would get angry.
And a lot of times I would say things to them, and it was never pleasant.
And one day, somebody didn't hold doors open for me, and it occurred to me, I was angry because this person didn't act the way I thought people should act.
And then I started looking at all the other things that made me angry, and it was always because people didn't act the way I expected they should.
And so now I don't do that.
Here's how I look at doors and people holding doors for me.
If somebody doesn't hold a door for me, fine.
If they do, I appreciate it.
I don't expect it anymore.
I appreciate it.
And on my Facebook page, my saying is, expect less, appreciate more.
I find ways to appreciate virtually everything.
Like tap water, I appreciate.
I appreciate indoor plumbing.
I appreciate waking up every morning.
I find something to appreciate constantly.
I appreciate having dogs in my life.
Anything.
I mean, the light not being red when I'm in a hurry.
I appreciate things.
I count my blood.
When did you adopt this attitude?
Oh, God.
It was about 10 years ago.
And before that, I was just...
Right.
And what prompted you to adopt it?
Well, like I said, I was walking...
Where I was working, we had like a field trip to another office, a state office.
Oh, all right.
So it was a personal issue.
I was just curious if you'd read something.
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