Timeless Wisdom - Happiness Hour: Make Up Your Mind

Your dog and a stranger are drowning. You can only save one. Who do you choose? Dennis Prager says your answer reveals everything about how you define right and wrong. In his new book, If There Is No God, Prager exposes the danger of emotion-based morality and why without objective truth, society descends into chaos. This isn't a religious book. It's a rational case for moral clarity in a confused age. If There Is No God from Dennis Prager. Order now at PragerStore.com. Welcome to Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Hear thousands of hours of Dennis's lectures, courses, and classic radio programs. And to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles, go to DennisPrager.com.

Hi everybody and welcome to the Happiness Hour on the Dennis Prager Show. Every week at this time, no matter what. Hey, yes it, yes it is. Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes it is. It's the Happiness Hour. We talk about happiness every week at this time because it is a moral obligation to be as happy as possible. It's the happy, happy, happy, happy hour, and it really is. Why would you think I would choose one topic? It's the only one of all the things I talk about that I, I'm obligated to talk about. I have an Ultimate Issues Hour every week where I talk about some great issue of life, but there are different ones each week. But this is happiness every week. Happy people make the world better. The unhappy tend to make the world worse. I'm sorry, unhappy ones. I'm sorry. The unhappy walk around thinking that the happy don't have any problems. It's a common belief among the unhappy that only they have the issues. Now, there are, of course, there are exceptions to every rule, including this one, but that's why we owe it to our children, our spouses, our parents, our friends. God, I was on the plane yesterday. The guy next to me was one of these misanthropes. I mean, he didn't do anything cruel, but I remember just saying, "Hi, good morning." And that was the response. And he spoke English. He was not foreign-born. And I'm telling you, your trip, especially cross-country, your trip is different if you sit next to an unhappy, an obviously unhappy person. It is. I'm not asking for some manic to sit next to me and giggle the entire time. That's horrific. But the opposite of unhappy is not manic. It's balanced and have an upbeat disposition in life. A friend of mine told me— you'll like this, Alan— it was the Waz. And he told me that, uh, he was telling his son— how old, how old is the, the younger one? About 11. So, uh, I had, um, he says younger son told him that he was unhappy I was moving from the neighborhood. And, and, and he said, I really, I like Dennis because he is fun to be with and he doesn't listen to the show. An 11-year-old, an 11-year-old likes to be with an upbeat adult. And I don't, I don't clown with him. I'm not one of those adults who entertains children. He just likes that temperament. We all like it. It's just the way it is. But in the '60s, which ushered in the age of stupidity, the idea came that if you don't feel it, then you shouldn't act it, right? A typically foolish idea of that period. You don't feel happy, folks, you should act happy anyway for the sake of every— it's like saying, I don't feel clean. Well, you still take a shower whether you feel clean or not. And anyway, if you act happy, you'll be happier anyway. Now to today's topic. A lot of people fear making decisions. Talk to real estate agents. Real estate agents and their work, their work fascinates me. Fascinates me. I love homes. I find the, I find, I love walking into people's homes. I love the, there's a very, real estate is very real. Real estate work is real. People are real. Because when it comes to your home and to money, people are not acting. And I, I have bought more homes than I, than I want to think about. Not at the same time. I wish I could, then it would be great. But life doesn't always come the way you think it will come, and I bought more homes than I expected in, in successively. I'm not complaining, I'm just stating a fact. So I am somewhat of an expert on the psychology and a lot of other aspects of real estate. I mean, certainly not— I don't know what a real estate broker knows, but in other words, I know something about the process of selling and the process of buying. And there are people who— I am the opposite of this person. There are people who can't make up their mind on a house. Just can't. I was talking to a broker recently about a guy who was debating between two houses, and I told this guy, I said, how long has this guy been debating? He said, 6 months. I said, forget it, you are wasting your time with this man. This man will not decide for so long, it will be— it'll be— it'll drive you nuts. And though he was a broker with a lot of experience, he, he didn't believe me. He just disagreed with me. And sure enough, it turns out that this guy continues to be undecided. This notion of indecision because of a big decision— and it is a big decision, buying a house. Nobody knows better than I, it's a big decision. It is big in every way. Where you live is important, the type of home you have is important, and of course monetarily it's extremely important. Oh, I don't understate the importance of buying a house, but I do wish to make the point, and this is the point of this Happiness Hour, a lot of people are plagued by fear of making a decision. There are people who labor more over what dessert to get than I have over on occasion what home to get. I like the home, I like the place, I like the price, sign me up. I don't have a life to spend looking. As much as I enjoy looking at different homes, if I found a good one, then I'm, I'm happy. What is the worst thing that could happen? This I did an hour on, Alan, a long time ago. Everyone should always ask themselves, what's the worst that could happen? So the worst that could happen with regard to buying a house that you The later regret is you later regret you bought that house. It's not— doesn't work out fine. You can't— but it can't be that bad. It can't be that bad because you bought it. It must have enticed you for a whole host of reasons. And people spend their lives— and I feel bad for the spouse. Now, if your spouse is as tentative as you are, then you're blessed. That's fine, and it doesn't annoy your spouse. But I would think— and I, and I hate to, to put this burden on some of you— but I would think that women would like to be married to a man who makes a decision. Isn't that part of what renders a man masculine? I am making a decision. Doesn't mean you make it against your wife's will, but if she's looking to you for leadership in that, in that arena, then damn it, lead. I like that house. We're taking it. Well, I don't know, but this one has this. This one has an extra bathroom, but this one has another studio. And this one has, for California at least, this one has a little pool. This one has a jacuzzi. This one doesn't have either, but it has more tulips. This one has a little more flatland in the back. This one has a hilly background. Of course, that's the way, unless you have unlimited funds, you are going to pay You're going to figure out what you give up and what you have. That's the way of— that's all of life. No matter what you get, it comes with some price. And anything you get, if you get one with everything you want, then it will— the upkeep will be a fortune. And you don't— you probably don't have the money for everything you want. And it doesn't only apply to real estate. I'm using the real estate example. It doesn't only apply to real estate. It applies to getting married. Well, you know, I mean, she has this and not this, but she has that one and this, and he has this but not that, and that and but not this. And, uh, you know, if— what is it that most— what is it that the indecisive want? Absolute certitude. Where in life is absolute certitude available? Where? 1-800-PRAGER-776. Do— are you plagued? And I know wonderful people— this is not a character flaw, this is an emotional problem, psychological one. Do you— are you someone plagued by the inability to make a decision? If you are, I, I, and I, I say this in very openly, I'm— I feel bad for you. I have seen people suffer This guy whom I never met, debating between House A and House B, I mean, I can't believe he's happy. Yeah, I don't know. Well, this, but I don't know that, and I don't know, and I don't know, and I don't know what— when— no, no certitude is available. You sit down, you make a decision, and you move on with life. That is the best way in which to do these things. Make a decision. I'm sure that people do this with cars. Car dealers may— you may have— if you're a real estate agent, you have examples of this, I'd love to hear from you. If you are— if you're married to someone plagued with the inability to make a decision, I'd like to hear from you. And I think I can help you. At least I can help your mind, if not your psyche, adjust to making decisions. Because I want to know what you fear? Because it's all based on fear. What do you fear when it comes to making a decision? 1-800-PRAGER-776. The Happiness Hour on The Dennis Prager Show.

This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

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Now back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom.

Music on the Happiness Hour. Hi everyone, Dennis Prager here. I talk about happiness every week at this hour. I think the only exception I ever made was the week of 9/11, and I'm not sure I did then, but I think I did. Welcome back. I'm talking to you about a problem that afflicts— I wonder what percentage, I'd love to know what percentage of people, and I'd like to help you with this because you can't be happy if you have this problem, and that is the inability to make decisions. I was using the real estate issue. You could apply it to anything. You know, people— I don't know. Well, this is my favorite about the real estate issue, when people say, well, I don't know, is this a good time to buy? What does that mean? Good— you know, you know when is a good time to buy. You have to live life. You can't base it on, well, when will they still go down further? You don't know that. I have lived through more real estate cycles than, than I can, than I can count. I don't know, is this the time? It'll be better next year. I'll wait till rates change. Well, rates may go up. In the meantime, you have to live. You may have a heart attack in the meantime. So anyway, the— that, that's just the real— I mean, it could be on choosing a spouse, it could be on, on a job, it could be anything. Decisions have to be made. All right, let's, let's go to— let's— I want to find out what, what stops you. What goes on in your mind in the fear of making a decision? All righty, we begin in Dallas with Rob. Hello, Rob. Dennis Prager, thanks for calling.

Hey, hey, Dennis, uh, pleasure to talk to you.

Thank you.

Hey there, um, I, um, I'm such an indecisive person on so many levels. But, uh, even to the point that I don't— I can't even decide what to say to you right now. But the, the point being, that's perfect. Yeah, even though— even the little things in daily life, like, uh, I find myself getting caught up, uh, you know, should I put my, uh, microwave or put my coffee in the microwave to get it heated up before I turn on my computer? Because which one's going to take longer for me to do? And, uh, one could be working while the other one's not. I mean, just even the littlest things.

Oh wow.

Yeah, so It, it sometimes I find myself paralyzed by that.

Yes, exactly. It's paralyzing. I, I assume you're not married?

Oh, I am married. Huh.

How does it—

I am married, and it doesn't— I mean, it doesn't keep me from living a, a good life or, or anything like that, or productive.

Does it affect your, your wife?

Um, maybe in, in some respect, but I, I mean, of course she's a very, uh Understanding person, but, uh, I, I don't know if, you know, we've talked about it before, and I don't know if it's, if it's some kind of form of ADD or, or what it is.

But well, you know, these initials have really caused us to think in, in psychopathological terms when the issue may well be in your mind. It may not just be a— some ADD is where there is a block physiological block. There may not be, Rob. It may be— I want you to analyze, if not for me, for yourself. I want you to analyze. There are two things I want you to do. Analyze what you fear, because it has to be driven by fear. Something will happen if I make the wrong decision. That has to be a driving element. Is that fair to say?

I think that's probably correct.

Okay, number two. I want you to start timing yourself on all these little decisions of your daily life and say, no matter what, I'm coming to a decision within 30 seconds, right? Just be behavioral. And then I want, I want you to then realize that even if you made the wrong decision, the price paid is not terribly significant, or, or there may not even be a wrong decision.

Correct. And in most cases in my daily life, there probably isn't a wrong decision. But yes, I'm getting hung up on the, uh—

that's right. So I need you— I am, I am a behaviorist. I believe that forget your feelings, act with your mind. Mind says make a decision. I am going to do it. I am going to do mind over matter. And I want you to do it for the next week and send me an email. I'm very serious. I'd be very interested in knowing what would happen with Rob. And obviously, for those of you who were plagued— and obviously a lot of you were plagued, or I wouldn't have raised this as an issue— you can make decisions. Force yourself to make decisions within 30 seconds and, and find out what happens. Is life worse? Is life better? Is life the same? Okay, let's go to Lisa in Phoenix. And thank you, Rob. Lisa, Phoenix. Dennis Prager. Hi.

Hi Dennis, I've been waiting so long for you to ask a question like this because I really have a difficult time making decisions in general. But as of late, we have this big issue and it's just pressing on me where I can't sleep at night and it's keeping me up at night. And, and my husband is very black and white. He, um, he thinks it's— I'm ridiculous and he thinks I worry too much. But it's basically my 7-year-old son, he's in a parochial school. He's in first grade going into second grade, and academically the school's okay. He's getting, you know, some of the values that we like. However, he is a gifted child who's a little quirky and doesn't seem to quite fit in socially. And they happen to have this amazing gifted program in the public schools, which is kind of like him. It's geared towards kids like him that are a little quirky but, you know, need more academic stimulation in a Socratic setting. And that sort of thing. And we've— I've been going back and forth because school here starts in less than a month, and we don't— he's enrolled in both places, and I don't know where to put him.

Okay, first let me tell you that, that as so often in life, both choices are good. You are not choosing between death and life here. You are choosing between one wonderful form of schooling and another wonderful form of schooling.

So you shouldn't lose any sleep But I feel like if I make the wrong decision, then you'll change.

If you make the wrong decision, then you'll go back to the other school. Kids switch schools all the time. It doesn't matter. So that's why I have raised this. Always ask what's the worst that could happen. It's, it's not as if, you know, it's, it's either school here or there's this terrific school for 7-year-olds in, in Tokyo and I won't see my 7-year-old for a year. This is It's between the good parochial school and a special public school for gifted kids. There, the answer lies in your value system. Now, and for me, great academics is of no interest. Zero. And so therefore, for me, it would be a non-issue. I would send them to the parochial school. But I'm not even urging you to. I'm saying because I'm clear in my values, I know what decision I would make. Especially since I don't want my child to walk around thinking he's gifted.

Dennis, do you remember you had that woman, um, what's her last name, was Dweck, and she had the book The Mindset? Um, it talked about how you shouldn't praise your children all the time. I got the book and I read it, right? And I figured that would help me make my decision. And it's, it's not that we want him to think he's gifted, that's certainly not it. And of course that's— we want him to get the values because because that's what we believe in, and I think that's paramount. But if he's not happy socially and he's being picked on and made fun of—

That's right. You're right. If that's the inevitable, on the other hand, isolating him from the normal, so to speak, may not be a great decision either. Maybe he needs to learn to live with the normal. Back in a moment. Hi everybody, welcome back. This is the Dennis Prager Show, the Happiness Hour. An hour every week at this time, second hour on Friday, devoted to the subject of happiness. And today it is about the inability to make decisions. People fear making a decision— who to marry, what house to buy. On big ones, what are— you just heard, what school will I send my kid to? This poor— I mean it, this poor woman can't sleep at night. And the irony is she has two good choices. It's not like, well, this one may give my child malaria and this one may give my child diphtheria. It's not the presidential decision on the troops in Iraq. And we get paralyzed. I was thinking of this because of being involved in real estate recently. And a man that I never met in my life, I don't even know who he is, but who was debating between two houses for 6 months and will debate another 6 months. And they will both be gone. That's what is going to happen. What do you see? Again, this is the battle between the mind and the brain. Your mind has to direct you. If you're, if your mind governed, you can be happy. The mind, the mind, the mind. Thinking rationally and don't— not allowing fears to overwhelm you and so on. What is the worst thing that could happen if you make a bad choice? Now, there are times where the consequences are, are extraordinary, I agree. But not in a house purchase. It's pretty rare that you can't go back on a decision or going back on it is really, really traumatic. Okay, let's go to all the sorts of examples that people can give. And I hope that— was it Rob in Dallas? I hope he does contact me. I just told him, I want you to make decisions within 30 seconds for the next week. Whatever it is, what you're going to order in a restaurant, anything you want. I've seen people pore over restaurant menus as if they were choosing which form of execution they should have. Will it be by a chair, the electric chair? Will I be shot? Cracks me up. Phoenix, Arizona. Steve, hello Steve, Dennis Prager.

Hey Dennis, good talking to you again.

Thank you.

Hey, uh, first of all, I'm a golf instructor, and anybody that's been in golf can tell you that a lot of what happens in golf mimics real-life situations, right? And one of the common themes that you run into all the time with, especially with my students, is this theme called paralysis by analysis.

Uh-huh.

And it's exactly what you're talking about. They get so many things caught up in their mind that they, they begin to fear actually doing any one of the 20 things wrong.

So give me an example, because I don't know golf well, but give me an example.

Well, uh, let's say for example Sue is standing over the ball and she's about ready to hit. Well, she's thinking, well, is my alignment correct? Is, you know, do I have a correct grip on the club? Am I, am I standing to the ball far enough? Am I gonna— am I—

oh, I see. I never hit the ball. That's the old joke of how do you paralyze a centipede? Tell him to think about his legs.

Yeah, that's right.

That's exactly right. Thank you so much. All right, good. You heard it now from— that's a per— I guess it's a perfect example. What you— that's why I'm asking you folks to pose the question to yourself. What's the worst that could happen if I make the wrong choice? What's the worst that could happen? Anaheim, California. Anaheim and Jennifer. Hi Jennifer, Dennis Prager.

Hi Dennis, I just want to say you're an intellectual hero of mine and my family, and I thank you for bringing this up.

Thank you.

I wanted to discuss the importance of parents letting their children actually practice making decisions and allowing and supporting their consequences.

Right.

And that is something that I was not allowed to do in small or large things growing up, and it has really paralyzed me as an adult.

I didn't think of that.

And I, I tell you, when—

give an example, give an example.

Okay. Wasn't allowed to decide what to wear in the morning going to school. What school clothes to buy. And so now when I get up in the morning and I'm overwhelmed by the choices in front of me— oh, I could wear this, but it's not this, or that, but it's not that— and the rare times I was allowed to make a decision, that decision was often greeted with judgment or scorn. Oh, just do this, you know.

All right, all right, that's very interesting. I need to react to that. We'll be Be back in a moment.

This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this. Your beloved dog and a stranger are both drowning. You can only save one. Who do you save? Every time Dennis Prager asks that question, his audience splits three ways. One-third chooses the dog, one-third chooses the stranger, and one-third aren't sure.

Why?

Because we live in an age where increasingly feelings define right and wrong. But if morality is based on emotion, then murder, rape, and theft are just opinions. And if people feel justified, why is rioting or destruction wrong at all? In his new book, If There Is No God, Dennis Prager explains why civilizations cannot survive without objective morality and why Judeo-Christian values shape the moral foundations of the free world.

If you claim that certain things are good, certain things are evil, independent of how you feel about it, you are in effect affirming God.

If There Is No God by Dennis Prager, available now at pragerstore.com. That's pragerstore.com. Now back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom.

Hi everybody, you're listening to The Dennis Prager Show. This is the Happiness Hour, the hour I devote each week at this time to the subject of happiness. It's— and this week's topic is indecision and how many people are plagued by it. My theory is that you fear making the wrong decision. And this is not— I mean, this is not— I haven't discovered America, as they say, with this revelation. But if that is correct, then what you need to do is adopt a different philosophy, and that is, so what if you make the wrong decision? So what? It is very rare in life that you can't undo a bad decision. Very, very, very rare. And it is better to make wrong decisions than to make no decisions. Is that right, Alan? That's a big one. It is better. Well, there's a Pragerism. We used to make lists of those things. They were good because they come out, you know, spontaneously, and then they die in the either the atmosphere, troposphere, ionosphere, or stratosphere? They don't? Oh, good. Anyway, that's the point. Also, it's a temperament. It's, it's good. It's good. It doesn't mean you make decisions capriciously. You think it through. Obviously, you have— it has to have thought, has to have a reason, but you make the decision. What house? What spouse? What else? What else rhymes with that? What mouse? And people spend a whole 5 hours at a pet store choosing their mouse. Uh, okay, now the last lady, this poor thing, when she grew up she was not allowed to make any decisions and she feels that that has paralyzed her as an adult. It may well have, it may well have. But once you know that, I think half of your, half of, of your solution is there. You know the origins. That's why, folks, I am such a big behaviorist. I believe you, you choose your behaviors and then you let your psyche come along. Don't wait to change your psyche before you change your behavior. First change your behavior, then your psyche will travel behind it. Okay, let's go, and let's go to, uh, Ruthie in Suderton, Pennsylvania. Hi, Ruthie.

Hi.

Hi.

Well, here's my question. You're talking about being afraid of making decisions, but I'm okay with picking a mouse. It doesn't take me 4 hours. I have 2 big decisions coming up. One is buying a house. The other one is a bonus that my boss has offered me. I'm not afraid of— I guess it's when it's a big decision I have more fear of it. You said, "What's the worst that could happen?" Well, I don't know. There's like nothing really that bad could happen, but I still don't want to make the wrong decision.

But how do you know what the wrong— there's no way to know.

Right. Well, I guess that's the problem.

Well, there is no way to know. Unless you can have a crystal ball, you can't know what the wrong decision is.

Right. But if they're both good options, how do I pick?

Then if they're both good options, you thank God that you have such a great life that you can choose between good and good. So at worst, you got good and not best.

Okay, well, I guess I'm thankful to have a good and good decision, but I still have to make it.

Okay, so what is— give me an example here. Maybe I can help you.

Okay, well, the, um, the smaller one, like I said, is a, um, a bonus. My boss offered me a bonus, and he said, I'll either give you— either lease a car for you, or I'll give you a cash, like a chunk of cash. And so I'm not— I have my car that I have now, it's perfectly fine. I— it's maybe 9 years old, runs well. I like it. I would like to have a bigger one, but I would like to have money too, you know, because I'm looking to buy a house as well. So, um, I don't know. I don't know what to tell him.

Then there is no right decision here. There is— there is— you have two wonderful things being— you, you sound almost like If he had offered you 4 terrific things, you'd even be in worse shape.

Probably.

Just— that's what I meant. Thank, thank God or your lucky stars, whichever you believe in, that you have been given this opportunity to have one or the other. And you analyze how long— and this, this one is, is more, uh, I think, a cerebral than even an emotional one, right? Uh, wherein you sit down and you calculate, uh, what will I benefit after all the bonus? I have to pay taxes, but I don't know what the taxes are with regard to the car lease? How long more will my car last?

Right.

Uh, what is the amount of joy I will get from a car that I love versus the car that I now have? And you make your list, and then you make your decision and never look back.

Never look back.

That's key. Oh, oh, you're doomed. You're doomed if you look back. Oh, if I had only done this in my life.

Yeah, well, I guess partly, partly why I'm also crippled with indecision on this one because what I decide on that will have an impact on other people and on my bigger, more serious real estate decision. Like, I'm trying to buy a house, right? But it's just me, I'm 27, and I'm like, if I—

well, let me just tell you this: buy anything now. You're going to move anyway, Ruthie. Nobody almost living in America is in the same house they were at 27. And you, uh, this is a low market, buy now, and then you will know houses much better once you live in one, and you will be able to make a far wiser decision in your next house. The first-time homebuyer knows nothing. I can tell you from experience. You buy a house, you learn about houses, you see what you care about. You don't know what you'll care about in buying a house now. You never bought one. Buy something, get a good deal, you know, then there are a lot of rules there, but I can't review all of them now. And then buy something and never look back. People look back all the time, and this drives me nuts. Remember I did the show, is it better, uh, where I was passionate? It is better to marry and divorce than never to have been married. And, and it's, it's like that. So you— so that— so that didn't work out in the long run. And so what do you do? You look back and you say, oh, I, you know, I wish I had never— I— it would have been better to be single. The vast majority of people, in fact, don't believe it would have been better to have been single that whole time. The vast majority of divorced people. And now, and it's— believe me, a divorce in a marriage is far harder than a divorce from a house or a divorce from a car or a divorce from a job. Celebrate your life. Right, I mean it. Celebrate your life, because everybody could, could rethink everything they have done. We continue on the Happiness Hour on the Dennis Prager Show.

This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this. Your beloved dog and a stranger are both drowning. You can only save one. Who do you save? Every time Dennis Prager asks that question, his audience splits 3 ways. 1/3 chooses the dog, 1/3 chooses the stranger, and 1/3 aren't sure. Why? Because we live in an age where increasingly feelings define right and wrong. But if morality is based on emotion, then murder, rape, and theft are just opinions. And if people feel justified, why is rioting or destruction wrong at all? In his new book, book If There Is No God, Dennis Prager explains why civilizations cannot survive without objective morality and why Judeo-Christian values shape the moral foundations of the free world.

If you claim that certain things are good, certain things are evil, independent of how you feel about it, you are in effect affirming God.

If There Is No God by Dennis Prager, available now at pragerstore.com. That's pragerstore.com. Now back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom.

This could go on, really, this could go on for days. I, I love the calls that I have up here.

Oh boy.

1-800-PRAGER-776. In fact, I would like, uh, Ezra to stay on for the next hour. I'm gonna— that's a— it's beyond the happiness issue. So I hope he's listening. Ezra in Gig Harbor, Washington, stay on. And now I'm talking to you this hour, the Happiness Hour. This is Dennis Prager, and every week at this time I do have an hour on happiness. The problem of people paralyzed by inability to make a decision. I gave the real estate example. It's endless. House, spouse, mouse, whatever it might be. Well, you know, I see both sides. There are always both sides, folks. There's always both sides. Very rare that there aren't two sides. I see both sides. Of course you do. Of course there's going to be a house that has something the other house doesn't have. Of course there's going to be a man or a woman who has something that the other man or woman doesn't have. Of course, it's endless. It's the way it works. Alrighty, let's see here. And, uh, okay, well, Jennifer is still on, but I thought I— I hope I dealt with that one. Jennifer, become behavioral. Just, just make the decisions. Force yourself to, whether you like, like to or not. Folks, you don't have to be emotionally comfortable with your decisions. There's been too much emphasis placed on feelings. A man came over to me after a speech this week in Toronto and said he was offended. That's the only thing that drives me nuts when people react to me, because I'm not offensive at all. What he meant to say was he didn't agree with me. So because he felt bad with what I said, he was offended. This is just narcissism. Feelings, feelings are not that important. They're unbelievably important in making us human, of course, but not in making our decisions. Uh, okay, let's see here. My girlfriend, uh, this is Andrew in Dallas. My girlfriend couldn't make decision for the life of her, but my impatience has made her more decisive. Exactly, that's what people need. You got— you can't, you can't become enablers of the unhappy. It's another topic for you. Enablers of the unhappy. That's what a lot of people do. Give them feedback. You know, this, you can't live this way, dear girlfriend whom I love. All right, let's another one. Dave in Colorado Springs. I have a girlfriend who I intellectually know is bad for me, but I'm so emotionally attached I can't break up with her. Well, Dave, that's sort of self-answering.

I think.

Um, why don't you take out an ad in the obituary column, make believe you died, and just leave? Bobby, I'm sorry I didn't get to you, and Lee as well. Make decisions. This is Dennis Prager.

This has been Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Visit DennisPrager.com for thousands of hours of Dennis' lectures, courses, and classic radio programs, and to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles. Your beloved dog and a stranger are both drowning. You can only save one. Who do you save? Every time Dennis Prager asks that question, his audience splits three ways. One-third chooses the dog, one-third chooses the stranger, and one-third aren't sure. Why? Because we live in an age where increasingly feelings define right and wrong. But if morality is based on emotion, then murder, rape, and theft are just opinions. And if people feel justified, why is rioting or destruction wrong at all? In his new book, If There Is No God, Dennis Prager explains why civilizations cannot why we cannot survive without objective morality, and why Judeo-Christian values shape the moral foundations of the free world.

If you claim that certain things are good, certain things are evil, independent of how you feel about it, you are in effect affirming God.

If There Is No God by Dennis Prager, available now at PragerStore.com. That's PragerStore.com.