We Outsource our Sanity

By | August 15, 2023

[August 15, 2023] Dr.Jordan Peterson tells us that we are mentally sane as independent beings because others will correct us whenever we do something stupid.  People are giving corrections to us all the time, non-stop, and we are broadcasting sanity signals back and forth.  We smile at people if they behave properly and act like we would like to see them continue to behave.

For those that step out of line, then we tell them they have done something wrong.  We frown at them if they’re not acting correctly and ignore them if they don’t stop doing stupid.  We shun them.  We show a level of disgust.  We don’t listen to them and interrupt them while talking.  We won’t cooperate with them.  We are blasting signals at other people about how to regulate their behavior.

What sane people do is establish themselves as credible, reliable, trustworthy, and potentially interesting human being who aren’t going to do anything too erratic at any moment.  And everyone else is tapping us into shape, ensuring that that’s exactly what you are.  That is how you stay sane.

Today, our interaction with others is changing.  People are far less willing to deliver corrective messages to those deviating from being a good, moral human beings.  That partly explains the growth of narcissistic personality types because they have never had to change from their three-year-old self.  They have never been told a firm “no.”  The growth in narcissism among the young is created by a fear of giving corrective messages to those misbehaving.

Looking at large cities, we can see this failure magnified.  The outcome is higher crime rates and more violence in the inner city.  How this plays out over time is hard to determine, but we know that crime and violence in cities will get much worse, before it gets better if we continue to discourage others from telling us we are not behaving properly.

The lesson is clear.  Surround yourself with good people who can tell you the truth and not worry about hurting your feelings.  Surround yourself with those who are successful, intelligent, responsible, excellent communicators, and who are genuinely happy for you when good things happen.  That is how we outsource our sanity.

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Please read my books:

  1. “55 Rules for a Good Life,” on Amazon (link here).
  2. “Our Longest Year in Iraq,” on Amazon (link here).
Author: Douglas R. Satterfield

Hello. I provide one article every day. My writings are influenced by great thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Jung, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Jean Piaget, Erich Neumann, and Jordan Peterson, whose insight and brilliance have gotten millions worldwide to think about improving ourselves. Thank you for reading my blog.

18 thoughts on “We Outsource our Sanity

  1. Eddie Gilliam

    Excellent article my friend.
    Proverbs a book of wisdom. Proverbs 8 Rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you;
    rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. 9Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning. 10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding

    Reply
  2. Plato

    If you live in a city run by Democrats, get the heck out now while you still have a chance. They are killing off law and order so the animals can take over. We are already seeing their plan of action taking shape in Chicago, NYC, SF, and even parts of Texas big cities. Heed my warning. Get out. Go to a small town and take your family. Else, you will be consumed in the fire of the evil that lurks in the dark corners of all large cities.

    Reply
    1. Jerome Smith

      Plenty more cities are going down hard and Washington DC is next.

      Reply
  3. Otto Z. Zuckermann

    Gen. Doug Satterfield wrote, “The lesson is clear. Surround yourself with good people who can tell you the truth and not worry about hurting your feelings. Surround yourself with those who are successful, intelligent, responsible, excellent communicators, and who are genuinely happy for you when good things happen. That is how we outsource our sanity.” POW! He nailed it. But we simply do not follow this advice. We have nutjobs around us that drag us down into the dirt.

    Reply
  4. Sadako Red

    Dr. Peterson, great guy. Listen to him if you can. Most of his best stuff is on Daily Wire +

    Reply
    1. Tom Bushmaster

      RED, great to see you back on Gen. Satterfield’s blog. It’s been a long time now since you’ve written one of your articles, ones that enlighten us on what is happening in the world that matters. Keep writing for us. That is what keeps the crazies at bay from the normal people, those very same people that make the world work. Not, of course, the crazies that destroy culture and are willing to use violence against us. And, they are supported by lunatic politicians are in it for the money for their families, like the Biden Crime Family. Shame on biden and his ilk in the media and govt agencies for protecting his illicit racket.

      Reply
      1. Emma Archambeau

        Tom and RED, yes!! Dr. Peterson is a master. Listen to him and you will better understand yourself and the world.

        Reply
      2. Ronny Fisher

        Yep! The crazies are walking among us. They are not called the “walking dead” for nothing.
        Ha Ha Ha
        🤣🤣

        Reply
  5. Max Foster

    I hear ya when you write ” People are giving corrections to us all the time, non-stop, and we are broadcasting sanity signals back and forth. ” But I also note that there is less and less of this because of the oversensitivity of younger people today who conflate speech with violence. They do not understand that the whole purpose of speech is to substitute for physical violence and that this is one of the major discoveries of humans thousands of years ago. Today’s little snowflakes that consider themselves superior to everyone else, are running the show.

    Reply
  6. Marlboro Man

    Looks like radical leftists have surrounded themselves with crazy other leftists so that there is no sanity at all in their groups. Explains their nutty behavior. Those ignorant duckflutes.

    Reply
    1. Dennis Mathes

      Excellent comment.
      Oh, get a copy of these books … “Our Longest Year in Iraq” and “55 Rules for a Good Life” … all by Gen. Doug Satterfield. You will be glad you did.

      Reply
      1. Desert Cactus

        Got my copies. And if you don’t have multiple copies to give away, then you are not keeping up with your responsibilities as a good person. That is why i read this blog of Gen.S. and love each article each day. I love to wake up in the morning to one of his newest articles and read it and say, “wow.” That is usually my best response.
        ❤❤❤❤❤

        Reply

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