Sick Souls, Healthy minds written by John Kaag presents a window into the life and mindset of William James. The text presents the question “Is life worth living?” “Why is life worth living?”. In chapter three of the text Kaag looks into James’ studies and opinions on habit and how it enables us to find our true selves.
What is “habit”? We tend to simply think of it as a small off hand activity that we regularly perform. Perhaps making your bed in the morning or sticking your tongue out at an individual you don’t like. According to William James while these do fit under the category of habit; in reality everything we do is habit. The jobs we go to, our means of getting there, how we react to varying stressors or stimulants.
“Habit is thus the enormous fly-wheel of society, its most precious conservative agent. It alone is what keeps us all within the bounds of ordinance, and saves the children of fortune from the envious uprisings of the poor. It alone prevents the hardest and most repulsive walks of life from being deserted by those brought up to tread therein. It keeps the fisherman and the deck-hand at sea through the winter…”
-Williams James view on habit and it role in society
Through James’ 40s he dedicated himself to psychological studies in which he attempted to understand the development of the human consciousness. He wrote a book: “objective manifestations of the mind”. Within chapter four James explains the development of habit within humans, specifically children. He describes the mind as pliable, not rigid, but not fragile (Kaag). Humans learn through experiences and at a younger age our minds ability to mold to new information is at a much greater ability than when we are older. This is why it is recommended children learn language at a younger age (Kaag).
We are not confined to a particular set of habits. Throughout our lives habit changes to fit our current desires, in different sections of our lives these habits stabilize and become consistent for a time (Kaag). Humans are a fluctuating species, you certainly wouldn’t think that your personality and mannerisms are exactly the same now as they were when you were 8. However you wouldn’t necessarily say that you aren’t a completely different person now than who you were then. While we fluctuate over time, there are aspects of ourselves that remain consistent or at least remain partially consistent with habit and have the potential to change accordingly.
“The law of habit” according to William James is that habit ultimately stems and changes due to the extreme plasticity of nervous tissue. This theory was supported and expanded upon by Hebb who observed that neural pathways can alter our physical and mental make up. Called priming. Basically repeated behavior is more likely to occur again in the future (Kaag). Thus creates the definition of habit we have today.
When looking at William James’ life he was no different in regard to “The law of habit”. Early in his life, a period where his mind would have been argued as more pliable, James was a hard worker and was constantly driven by the need to succeed. Eventually it seems this lifestyle took a certain toll on him and sent him into a depression. He opted to take a break from his extreme success drive which seemed to help him to an extent. However when dedicating himself to his studies on the human conscious he would revert back to his old drive to succeed the text saying that as unlikely as it was he gave into the goddess success.
This isn’t a bad thing the habit of work is good. It’s what makes habit the “flywheel of society”. For William James the habit of work and success seemed to be what made him feel truly alive. It was important to James that he formed a habit that enabled him to live a self actualized life and that improved the world around him, ultimately he wanted a state that made him feel truly at peace with himself.
“I have often thought the best way to define a man's character would be to seek out the particular mental or moral attitude in which, when it came upon him, he felt himself most deeply and intensely alive. At such moments there is a voice that says, ‘This is the real me’”. -William James
As powerful and as good as habit is there come dangers of it. James believed that a contributor to human misery was indecisiveness and acting in a stagnant manner. He classified these qualities as bad habit and would get in the way of true happiness. James saw risk as an important means of living life. Without risk we could never discover new things about ourselves and never get to the point where we find “the real me”. With risk also comes indecisiveness. Should we become indecisive we would no longer have the habit that turns the wheel of society we simply wouldn’t function. Both instances correlate with one another.
Let's say you have been presented with a job offer that would let you do what you think you truly want to do, however picking up this job would mean losing the current job you have. You could not take the offering and keep the current job you have, but it comes with the consequence of never knowing what could have been. Being indecisive could also bring about your downfall as you could lose this opportunity. Note that this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t think over a decision, especially if it’s as important as this example, however should you remain indecisive on a matter it’s basically the same as not taking the risk at all. Furthermore it would remove the concentration you have on your current habit.
Another danger of habit is the monotony of some activities. While according to James our ultimate goal is finding a habit or role is to form a self actualisation on the way we will come across habits that bore us. This could also result in removal of concentration on societal habit and obligations. It is important to find other habits in between these that remove the monotony and promote a healthier mindset. James observed that some Norwegian women despite daily work were very happy. He took note that those with a more positive outlook on life took time to go outside and ride their bikes (Kaag). It has been proven that exercise and sunlight can improve mood, but ultimately means of mediation between work and self actualisation can vary depending on the individual. Take time to try new activities in between busy hours, you might find it to be helpful. It might even help you find “the real you”.
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