Nature of Human Nature

Wherever you go, there it is. Lurking behind every action. Ready anytime to jump out and get in the way of a good idea. We blame it for all the bad and acknowledge it for all the good. We proclaim – “it’s just human nature!” Human nature seems to be the catchall justification for much of what we humans do (or do not do). Is it good or evil? Are some of us driven by it more than others? We refer to it all the time, but do we really understand it? Or has it just become a convenient excuse for our shortcomings and failures?

“Humans have certain properties and characteristics which are intrinsic to them, just as every other organism does. That’s human nature.” — Noam Chomsky

So, what is this human nature thing all about? Here are some of the characteristics we attribute to it; it’s human nature to…:

• judge others (differently than we judge ourselves)
• seek profit or personal gain
• always be right in our actions and opinions
• seek instant gratification
• be appreciated and acknowledged for what we have done
• be lazy or get away with little effort
• be self-centered, narcissistic
• lean toward the negative
• lack trust in others
• not acknowledge and then blame others for our mistakes and failures
• protect ourselves from harm and danger

Human nature is our internal Human Operating System (iHOS). Human nature may have evolved over the millennium (though I doubt that), but we certainly cannot change it. It can be ignored, but it cannot be avoided. It is better to understand it and control it, then to ignore it. So, what is the nature of human nature?

• Human nature is common across all human beings. It applies equally to everyone.
• Human nature is comprised and driven by the two parts of the internal Human Operating System (iHOS) – the Primitive Soul and the Angelic Soul (as described in ONLY HUMAN: Guide to our internal Human Operating System (iHOS) and Achieving a Better Life).
• Human nature is neither wholly good nor evil. It depends on how it is applied, utilized, or executed and which part influences or motivates you at any one time.

Human nature is similar to a tool – it depends on how you use it. Each part has its pluses and minuses. Each part when taken to its extreme may manifests itself as evil and be very destructive to both oneself and others. Its parts can be good in moderation or in balance.

The good aspect is that human nature has given us the ability to survive in the tough times. In the prosperous times we live in, however, we need to learn to turn down the survival motivation several notches. One part of our human nature wants peace and harmony, but the other part cannot apologize for a simple mistake or error. Our human nature is to avoid and pretend that we are perfect, that the issues are with someone or everyone else. The problem regarding our human nature influence is with the people who refuse to acknowledge that they are driven by their human nature, thereby never accepting ownership or control of it.

If you want to live in a better world, you must come to terms with your human nature. So then, the key to success and happiness is not in changing our human nature (that is not within our power). It is to learn the keys of how to live with it, by:

First, accepting we are all driven and motivated by our human nature – our iHOS,

Second, understanding the depth of our human nature, how it functions and how it affects what and how we do life, and

Third, using that understanding and knowledge to control it, to motivate you in a positive direction, to take action and fulfill on your purpose.

And as Adam Smith said so well – “To feel much for others and little for ourselves; to restrain our selfishness and exercise our benevolent affections, constitute the perfection of human nature.”

Please share with me your “favorite” personal human nature story.