Final Report- Nick Luse

Sick Souls Healthy Minds Chapter 3

By Nick Luse  

    Recently I read Chapter 3 of Sick Souls, Healthy Minds by John Kaag. This book highlights lots of the ideas of William James and how his ideas can save your life. One particular section that stood out to me was the section about habits. James argues that everybody wants to be their best and live their happiest life. The habits we have and acquire over our lives are one of the best ways for people to live a happy life. I agree with this and think that it is true, but it could also very well go the other way. We can easily pick up good habits and habits that make us productive, but we can also do the exact opposite just as easily, if not easier. You can easily start going to the gym 5 days a week, make sure you drink enough water, or even make sure you eat enough vegetables. However, it’s just as easy to have a beer at 5 o’clock every day or start buying a pack of cigarettes once or twice a week. In William James on Habit, William James discusses the objective manifestations of the mind. This is essentially where one would reveal the inner workings of a habit. James believes once you reveal the inner workings of a habit, it helps you harness the power of a habit. The way I see this is essentially taking a step back and reevaluating what you are doing. I’m sure many of us have had times where we take a step back and rethink lots of decisions that we made in our lifetime. I know for myself and many people that I’m close with, we have all asked ourselves, “What am I doing?” and we’ve broken out of many bad habits. This is also something that is reflected in Why is it so Easy to Slip back into Old Habits? saying how the best way to avoid back into a bad habit is by asking yourself why you broke that habit in the first place. James was a firm believer that habits can be broken. In his own studies he came to the conclusion that “Tension is a habit. Relaxing is a habit. Bad habits can be broken; good habits can be formed.” James also discussed the equilibrium of habit. This is where humans fall into habits naturally. This was actually something that I noticed in my own classrooms and all around the university. I noticed that in my own philosophy class everybody sat in the same seat. This was interesting considering nobody assigned any seats and nobody was told to sit in a certain spot. It was simply just natural for people to sit in the same spot every day in class. This just doesn’t happen in class; you could sit at the same spot every day at the kitchen table with your family or use the same shower in your dorm hall. This is good for humans because it’s natural for our bodies to get into a routine. However, I believe that this could also lead to bad habits; your body could naturally get fit by going to the same gas station and buying the same cigarettes. Our body gets so used to these habits that they essentially become invisible to us. For more information on habits and how they are formed or broken, I found a video linked below. The Power of Habit 

    The second interesting part of the chapter was James' ideas about emotion. James considered himself a man who had a strong will to overcome his own bad habits; however,  he still had his own feelings of stagnation and impotence. James discusses our own personal feelings, saying that our feelings are what make us unique. Our feelings are the most special parts about us. Our feelings are ours and not anybody else’s. But our feelings can also drive us to be lonely. We never share our deepest thoughts, so nobody knows exactly who we are. According to a NY Times article, an English professor was teaching poetry and asked about poems about deep thoughts, and the class didn’t respond and only stared. Deep Thoughts, About Deep Thoughts. This is something that reflects the world and leads to us being secluded in a lot of our own thoughts. James also believed that our actions and emotions are intertwined. James argues that being antisocial and lying in bed all day isn’t because you are depressed; rather, you are depressed because you lie in bed all day. This is the same as saying, “We don’t laugh because we are happy; rather, we are happy because we laugh. This is something I agree with, as I believe that staring at your shoes in public only makes you more antisocial. The best way to overcome a negative emotion is to get out of the mindset rather than have actions that fuel it. Wallowing in a dirty house only makes you more depressed. In The Damaging Effects of Negativity Marque Medical discusses how lots of bad emotions and negativity lead to bad habits, and one of the ways to break them is a change of mindset and reflection, much like William James argues. 

 

    At the end of the chapter, James asks a very interesting question. “Do we still have recourse when we fail?” I say without a doubt yes. I spent many years of my life as a baseball player. As many people describe it, baseball is a game of failure. I learned over the years that failure is ok, and it’s not something that we should be afraid of. There is a learning situation with everything, and sometimes the only thing we can do is learn. The only failure I see is taking absolutely nothing from a situation and driving into a negative mindset. I’ve failed lots in my life; however,  I’ve learned from every situation and am more prepared for next time. Being a pitcher, there were many times other players would get hits off of me and succeed against whatever I threw. The only thing I could do was learn from what happened and try to get the batter out the next time I faced them. I believe this is something that directly correlates with life; nothing in life is ever a straight line, and that is a lesson that everybody can learn.

Below are discussion questions that everyone is free to answer

1. Do you think we are happy because we laugh, or we laugh because we are happy?

2. Do we have recourse when we fail?

3. We are some ways that you have broken your own bad habits.