Superhabits is published!

Read the Introduction from the book here

Superhabits: the Universal System for a Successful Life, is published today! To get a taste of it, here’s the full Introduction from the book:

INTRODUCTION

AT EXACTLY 1:35 p.m. on May 21, 1950, the Peruvian city of Cusco was shaken by a powerful earthquake. Homes, offices, and churches collapsed. Fortunately, a large proportion of the residents were outdoors watching a soccer match at the time of the quake, or the death toll would have been much worse. Even so, dozens of people died, many more were injured, and entire districts were flattened.

The nearby ancient Inca site of Machu Picchu, however, was barely damaged. Hundreds of years ago, its builders had developed earthquake-proof construction techniques that used large interlocking blocks held together without mortar. This design allowed the blocks to shift slightly during an earthquake and then resettle, instead of breaking and collapsing. Had the modern Cusco builders been aware of these age-old techniques, much of the devastation could have been avoided.

Architects in the San Francisco Bay area and other seismically active locations have since learned from the Inca construction methods, and applied them to develop earthquake-resistant structures. They are designing buildings with interlocking blocks, similar to those of the Inca, though smaller and lighter, and likewise assembling them without using any mortar. This recovery of ancient Inca wisdom allows modern buildings to resist earthquakes, like Machu Picchu has done for five hundred years.

There is another recovery of ancient wisdom going on right now. It promises to have a much more comprehensive impact on all of our lives. It will not simply help us to build better buildings. It will help us to build better selves, better communities, and a better world.

Self-improvement can be complicated. One self-help book recommends strengthening your communication skills; another says focus on your empathy; still another your journaling techniques. We’re supposed to Start with Why, have Grit, have Drive, have the right Mindset, be vulnerable by Daring Greatly, be a Badass, be Quiet, learn to Think Big, or Think Small, focus on The ONE Thing, and practice The Subtle Art of Not Giving a ****.

You wonder: Are all of these things really important? You have a sense that they might be (except, perhaps, the last one). But, how do they all fit together? How can I put them all into practice? How can I ever remember them all?

Have you ever watched a child learn to walk? As I wrote this, our grandson Owen was learning to walk. We watched him as he carefully, intently took each step, concentrating so hard that his tongue was sticking out between his teeth (which was a bit worrisome). He had the muscles, and the balance. But each step was a huge mental effort. He didn’t yet have the habit of walking. It wasn’t yet automatic.

There is a set of mental habits, quite as essential as walking, which can be learned. They are habits for managing our thoughts, our actions, and our feelings. If you learn them, instead of crawling through life, you will be able to walk — and then run.

Consider this. Do you or any of your colleagues struggle with making decisions or getting along with others, or suffer from anxiety? The habits I’m speaking about are precisely the ones needed to handle these issues.

If we fail to learn these habits, we can usually hobble along. But instead of doing things fluidly and effectively, we will have to concentrate hard to take each step, like little Owen. Whether it is making a difficult decision, dealing with a problematic colleague, or responding to an emotional outburst, we’ll have our tongues between our teeth. If we fall over, it will hurt. Like the city of Cusco, we may be shaken to the point of calamity.

The good news is that, across multiple fields, ancient habits are now being recovered — just like the Inca building techniques — allowing us to live more successfully and to achieve superb results in our daily lives.

Global consulting firms, researchers at major universities, and advocacy organizations are calling attention to these time-tested ways of living. McKinsey & Company refers to them as “distinct elements of talent.” Deloitte describes them as core “capabilities.” Both agree that they are essential for improving productivity. America Succeeds, an education-focused non-profit organization, considers them to be “durable skills” and in very high demand. The Search Institute calls them Internal Developmental Assets and has extensive research showing that they help young people grow into “caring, responsible, and productive adults.” The field of positive psychology, which has been studying these habits for three decades now, refers to them as “character strengths.” Researchers at the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University have shown their contribution to a better life. The University of Michigan’s Center for Positive Organizations has investigated their impact on organizational success. The Optimal Work project has a highly effective coaching platform built on them. Professors at Oxford University and at several universities here in the United States, including my own, are working on helping our students develop them.

But what are these habits, these specific forms of excellence that are so important? Classically, they are called virtues. They are far older than Machu Picchu, and the power they contain is incalculable. In fact, as the positive psychology research shows, they are like superpowers: as you develop any one of them, your life becomes calmer, more productive, more joyful, and healthier. And anyone can develop them through practice.

One of the best, most complete descriptions of what superhabits can do for us was written by a brilliant thirteenth-century Italian philosopher-monk named Thomas Aquinas, who lived 750 years ago. Nearly forgotten over the succeeding centuries, Aquinas’s framework organizes the superhabits and shows how they are central to human life. In this book I will introduce you to his system, and use it to integrate three different and important streams of work. The first is the scientific research I mentioned above, in positive psychology, management, and education. This research provides sound empirical evidence of the extraordinary benefits of each superhabit.

The second stream of work is the contemporary “habits” literature. You’re likely familiar with bestselling books like Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit, James Clear’s Atomic Habits, and Professor B. J. Fogg’s Tiny Habits. These books show convincingly how small changes can have a big impact in your life, by creating habits.

Since superhabits are habits themselves, everything these books say about habits applies to superhabits too. But we’ll also see how Aquinas’s framework shows which habits — from the thousands of possible habits you could imagine — most merit your attention right now and will have the biggest impact on your life.

The third research stream is the “rules” literature, such as Jordan Peterson’s immensely popular 12 Rules for Life (and its sequel Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life) and Stanford University professor Jeffrey Pfeffer’s 7 Rules of Power. Each of these books condenses extensive empirical research about different parts of life into specific rules, such as “Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world,” or “Get out of your own way.”

As a result, you will be able to take the wisdom in the “rules” books and turn it into superhabits that become second nature. Instead of Inca building blocks that resist earthquakes, you will have an integrated system of living that is scientifically proven to enhance dramatically the quality of your life and your impact on others.

My university, Washington, D.C.-based Catholic University of America, and specifically the Busch School of Business where I am the founding and current dean, is on the leading edge of cultivating these superhabits in the lives of our students. Our university’s unique combination of expertise in philosophy, history, sociology, psychology, theology, education, and organizational behavior has allowed us to integrate these fields of study into a practical program for our students. Our graduates are in great demand by employers and, as shown by a recent Gallup survey, are outperforming their peers in the different dimensions of human well-being, social, personal, and financial, and have a workforce engagement rate that is double the national average.

My purpose in writing this book is to share what we have learned so that others can benefit from our experience. We’ll begin our exploration of the system of superhabits with one simple, but high leveraged, superhabit that prevents us from sabotaging ourselves right at the outset.

Read on: order Superhabits: The Universal System for a Successful Life here.

Take the free Superhabits assessment with AI coaching here.