Dennis Prager Show - This Way Of Thinking Could Make You Happier
Aired: 2023-10-23
Duration: 05:19


=== Why Assuming Human Nature Is Good Is Foolish (03:40) ===

[00:00:02]  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.
[00:00:18]  It's critical, because if you think people are basically good, you're somewhat of a foolish person, and you...
[00:00:30]  Have decided to ignore all of human history to come to such a truly absurd realization.
[00:00:39]  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.
[00:00:52]  But I'm not talking about that.
[00:00:53]  That I've talked about often, and I will again at some point.
[00:00:56]  I'm talking about happiness.
[00:00:58]  It's the happiness hour.
[00:01:00]  If you think people are basically good, you are far more likely to be constantly disappointed.
[00:01:06]  Whereas if you understand people are not basically good, you are far more likely to be constantly exhilarated.
[00:01:14]  Big difference, isn't it?
[00:01:17]  Wow, despite human nature, look at all these good people in my life.
[00:01:22]  As opposed to, oh, human nature is good.
[00:01:24]  How did I get stuck with A, B, and C? Not good people or people who do a lot of bad.
[00:01:35]  That's important.
[00:01:38]  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.
[00:01:53]  But it isn't beyond belief to me.
[00:01:56]  As a student of Jewish history and one who wrote a book on anti-Semitism, this is what, unfortunately, they do.
[00:02:06]  There's no hatred like Jew hatred.
[00:02:12]  And it doesn't shock me.
[00:02:15]  I didn't expect better from Israel's enemies at any time in my lifetime.
[00:02:21]  They are the heirs to the Nazis.
[00:02:24]  They want to wipe out the Jews of Israel like the Nazis wanted to wipe out the Jews of Europe.
[00:02:30]  So my heart breaks for these people.
[00:02:33]  My heart breaks.
[00:02:34]  But I'm not stunned.
[00:02:39]  Surprise is a big factor in unhappiness.
[00:02:47]  If you're not surprised, you're...
[00:02:51]  You're more likely to handle it okay.
[00:02:56]  And it's true in the micro, in your own life.
[00:03:02]  If you're naive about human nature, you're going to have a lot more unhappiness than if you are rational about human nature.
[00:03:12]  1-8 Prager 776 is the number.
[00:03:17]  How does this strike you as a piece of advice?
[00:03:22]  Okay, let's see.

=== Why Expect Less? (01:51) ===

[00:03:27]  Sacramento, California, and Stephen, hello.
[00:03:31]  Hi, Dennis.
[00:03:32]  Hi.
[00:03:33]  Thank you for taking my call.
[00:03:35]  I love this topic because I used to always be angry.
[00:03:41]  I was angry all the time.
[00:03:42]  And it was because I expected people to do things.
[00:03:45]  And an example, one of the days I figured out what my problem was, I always expected people to hold doors open for me.
[00:03:52]  And if they didn't, I would get angry.
[00:03:54]  And a lot of times I would say things to them, and it was never pleasant.
[00:03:57]  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.
[00:04:07]  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.
[00:04:15]  And so now I don't do that.
[00:04:18]  Here's how I look at doors and people holding doors for me.
[00:04:21]  If somebody doesn't hold a door for me, fine.
[00:04:23]  If they do, I appreciate it.
[00:04:26]  I don't expect it anymore.
[00:04:27]  I appreciate it.
[00:04:29]  And on my Facebook page, my saying is, expect less, appreciate more.
[00:04:33]  I find ways to appreciate virtually everything.
[00:04:37]  Like tap water, I appreciate.
[00:04:39]  I appreciate indoor plumbing.
[00:04:41]  I appreciate waking up every morning.
[00:04:44]  I find something to appreciate constantly.
[00:04:46]  I appreciate having dogs in my life.
[00:04:49]  Anything.
[00:04:50]  I mean, the light not being red when I'm in a hurry.
[00:04:54]  I appreciate things.
[00:04:55]  I count my blood.
[00:04:56]  When did you adopt this attitude?
[00:04:59]  Oh, God.
[00:05:00]  It was about 10 years ago.
[00:05:03]  And before that, I was just...
[00:05:05]  Right.
[00:05:05]  And what prompted you to adopt it?
[00:05:08]  Well, like I said, I was walking...
[00:05:10]  Where I was working, we had like a field trip to another office, a state office.
[00:05:15]  Oh, all right.
[00:05:16]  So it was a personal issue.
[00:05:17]  I was just curious if you'd read something.