Superhabits – the Story so Far
#13: Moving to Substack
Life, for so many people, is harder than it needs to be.
Why — and is there anything that can be done about this? For several years I have been reflecting on, exploring, and researching this question.
Recently I started sharing what I've found. In a series of LinkedIn posts, I wrote about how I believe that the answer to what can be done about it has a lot to do with a particular set of habits that I have come to call "superhabits."
On the advice of friends, I’ve decided to shift the project to Substack (among other things, it allows you, the reader, to — if you wish — receive an email notification every time I post something new).
The original posts will remain on LinkedIn, and I will post a link on LinkedIn to each new Substack article.
Here’s the story so far: a summary of the LinkedIn posts, with links back to the originals.
Life is harder than it needs to be, because we're missing a particular set of important capabilities.
Consulting firms are starting to write about how important these capabilities are.
Positive psychology research shows that each of these capabilities is a superpower, making us more effective, happier, and healthier.
Anyone can develop any of these capabilities, because they are all habits, and we know all about how to develop habits, thanks to the great work of Charles Duhigg, James Clear, and others.
But it's not just a question of building any habit – there is a particular set of habits that has been the underpinning of some of the greatest civilizations in human history, across continents and millennia.
This set of habits holds tremendous potential for our society. Why isn't there more excitement about it? Is it because of the elephant problem?
Or is it because of the different meanings, to different people, of the V-word, "virtue"?
To avoid the V-word problems, I'm proposing the word "superhabits." Here's how superhabits are different from regular habits.
Superhabits lead to greater happiness.
Based on the work of the medieval philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas, we can identify a complete system of superhabits.
I call it the Anatomy of Virtue. It covers every dimension of life: material and spiritual, intellectual and practical, thoughts, actions, and feelings. (In this post I shared the Anatomy of Virtue "wheel" graphic).
At the heart of the practical dimension of life are the four cardinal virtues, which address our thoughts, actions, and feelings of fear and desire respectively.
In the next few posts, I’d like to get into the details of how exactly to grow in superhabits/virtues, starting with the question of why it’s so hard to grow in a cardinal virtue like Self-discipline.