Jerry Seinfeld: Having Kids Changed My Life | Trending Now

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld opens up about his feelings of depression and darkening moods, elaborating on how this tendency comes with a creative mind. He also shares the impact of his kids, calling them the greatest show on Earth and how much fun they are to watch, as well as discussing his parenting style.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey guys, Graham here. It's Friday, which means we get
to share with you another one ofour most popular clips from a
past interview. The clip you're about to hear is
trending on our Instagram right now.
Hope you enjoy. You said that everything you do
is about how to get out of today's depression.

(00:21):
Yeah, I mean, it doesn't happen every day.
What's the feeling that you try and get I?
Mean I depression is probably too strong a word.
It's just we all have these mooddips, you know, where you just,
you're feeling good and something not great happens, or
you're late or you, you see a scratch on your car and you just
get depressed about it. And you can get depressed when

(00:43):
things are going great. That's the most depressing.
When does it happen most for you?
Irrespective of circumstance, I just don't feel good sometimes
just don't feel good. And they the best way to to get
out of it for me is work. Work is the best antidote.

(01:04):
That's why I work so much, because it's the for some reason
it just you feel like you're notwasting time.
A tendency to be depressed is part of the kit that comes with
the creative aspect of the. Brain that's.
Right. How did reading that impact you?
I realized this tendency to get depressed.

(01:25):
I would never want to not have that if I would lose the
creative gift that came with it.It's part of it.
It's it's probably an overactivebrain.
Right after your sitcom wrapped,Yeah, for a few months, you
didn't do much. I think you're playing pool
every. Afternoon.

(01:45):
In like a billiards hall on the Upper West.
Side. You said I was kind of lost
after the show. I really didn't want to get
married. I didn't want to be single
anymore. I didn't know what I wanted to
do. What was that period like for
you? That's a pretty interesting
period. You know, you, you kind of feel

(02:06):
like you got to the end of the, the, the rainbow there.
And, and so now what, you know, what, what do I do in life now?
And. Depressed, then.
No, no, that's always the same. But, and I don't know if I, I
think most human lives are like this, you know, good days, part

(02:30):
of the day is good. Part of the day you don't feel
good. Sometimes you don't feel good a
whole day. Some days you feel great all
day. Well, and I know I'm certainly
like that, but then there are people that, you know, struggle
with it more than others. Yeah, I wouldn't call it real
depression. Yeah, I don't know what the word
for it is. I I just call it the mood
darkens, I get a darkening mood and I don't.

(02:52):
I want to get out of it. How did having children impact
your life? You don't have kids.
I don't. Only someone that doesn't have
kids would ask that question. OK, well here here, here is the
connective. How did it impact your life?
Here was the how. Did having a human body impact
your? Life.
So here was the connective quote.
Had you? Well, what did it feel like to

(03:13):
be just a spirit sparking through the Galaxy and then you
took the form of humanity? How did that change you?
Wait, so how'd you the connective quote was?
You had once said. If it wasn't for my kids, I'm
pretty much done with living. I could kill myself.
Now, now, now. There's something else to live

(03:35):
for. Yeah.
Yeah, well, the kids, kids are the greatest show on earth.
So you just want to watch them live.
And the entertainment value of watching them try to live is,
you know, I don't watch all the shows that everybody watches.
I don't find them interesting. What do you watch?
I watch baseball and I and I like to see what the kids are

(03:57):
doing. The kids are very entertaining
because they're, you know, they're primitive humans and you
it's fun to watch. You know, like you, you can't
not watch the turtles try to getto the the waves.
You know, the little blue turtles when they run down the
beach and some of them make it and some of them don't, whenever

(04:18):
that you have to watch it. And so that's what kids are you
just watching these turtles run for their life?
How do you think your upbringingimpacted you as a dad?
Well, unfortunately you think the way you were brought up was
the greatest and so you attempt to replicate it, or even worse,
you attempt to improve on it. That's where you go really wrong

(04:40):
as a parent. You think my childhood was good?
I'm going to make my kids childhood perfect.
That's when you really screw them up because perfect is not a
good place to be for optimizing.You know, the human instrument,
imperfect is where you want yourkids to be.
I always talk about this, this bracket of struggle.

(05:02):
If you stay, you want to stay inthe bracket, not too much, not
too little, and try and move thebracket up as high as you can.
So the worst thing with the kidsis when you try and give them
pleasure or problem solve or praise.
Those are my 3 poison peas of being a parent, solving their

(05:24):
problems, giving them pleasure. Don't give him that cracker.
He he likes this cracker. This is his favorite cracker.
Give him that cracker. This is horrible.
It seems like you're increasingly interested in
sharing, like how the sausage ismade.
Well, Lord, parents, do that that you want us to.
Let me show you how life works. But I mean, it's not limited to

(05:47):
just use a parent. I mean, even in just hearing you
talk about things professionally.
I I want to take the watch apart.
My whole life is I want to take the watch apart.
I like knowing the time. But how does this watch work?
That's why I can't chit chat. Chit chat is the time.
Let's talk about these gears. How?

(06:08):
How the hell does this thing keep track of the time but with
a spring? One quick thing before you
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