In her TedxOcala talk The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong, Amy Morin says that to live a better life, you need to change yourself. This reminded me of a book I had recently read(and strongly recommend you read). The book’s name is Humankind: A Hopeful History, and it is written by a Dutch historian named Rutger Bregman. In the book, he talks about many things, but the main theme is the argument that humans are good people by nature, despite the majority of the world’s institutions being based on the idea that humans are bad by nature. In the epilogue, he gives some words of advice on some things we could do that would make our life better, and I would like to share some of them with you.
The first is to assume the best. Bregman writes that people have a negativity bias, which magnifies unpleasant experiences over pleasant experiences. He says that when you’re in doubt about a person’s intentions, you should always assume the best. Most people do mean well, and if you don’t give them a chance to present feedback, you’ll never know that.
The second is to try and understand other people, even if you don’t agree with their ideas. Bregman says that we should try to understand other people, because humans are based on reason and intellecuation, and understanding each other helps with the development of trust.
The third is not to be ashamed to do good. We are all taught throughout our lives to be humble, and to not brag about good stuff we’ve done. Scientists have discovered that people often fabricate excuses when they do good to make sense of why they are doing. But, as Bregman points out, people are naturally inclined to do good, and that is something that people shouldn’t try to hide from.
These are some of the tips mentioned in Humankind: A Hopeful History. I have taken some of his advice, and it’s actually quite effective. There are plenty of changes we could do to make our lives better, and we shouldn’t be afraid to make them. Like Amy Morin said in her Tedx talk, “it all starts with just one small step.”
