Welcome to the Happiness Podcast. I'm Dr. Robert Puff. Have you ever noticed how easily we pick up on catchphrases, habits, or even complaints from the people we work with or hang out with?

And nowadays, with the rise of social media, who we in quotes hang out with can greatly influence our ideologies and our belief systems.

And the software is so smart it's going to make sure it feed you things that reinforce what you already believe.

But this phenomenon isn't new. Humans are deeply tribal creatures.

Evolutionarily, being cast out of a tribe meant death on the savannah.

Because of this, our brains are hardwired to mimic the behaviors, diets, and mindsets

of the people around us to ensure we fit in and stay safe.

So if we want to live a positive, beautiful life, we cannot be anchored to a negative descending

tribe.

If we're serious about changing our lives, we often have to change our environment, and

that may mean the people we hang out with, the jobs we go to, or even the things we watch

on social media. So what's the real danger of hanging out

with the wrong tribe? After all, I don't necessarily do what they do. Why can't I just hang

out with people who are a little bit more crazy than I am? After all, they're really fun and

interesting. Have you ever heard of the crab mentality? If you put one crab in a bucket, it will easily climb out.

If you put multiple crabs in a bucket, the moment one tries to escape, the others will reach

up and pull it back down.

But Dr. Puff, we're a lot smarter than crabs.

We don't do this, do we?

Let's say we want to make some big changes in our life, so we stop drinking,

start eating healthier, or become more positive. What usually happens when we make these changes

with people that want to keep doing what we used to do with them? They may mock us, they may pressure

...