The Human Operating System

#18: People can’t seem to get along; there’s an epidemic of anxiety and depression; and we seem to be unable to fix the problems that surround us. We have a desperate need to upgrade our Human OS.

I find it helpful to think about the superhabits, collectively, as the Human Operating System.

The operating system (OS) on your phone or laptop, whether Apple’s iOS, or Google’s Android OS, or Microsoft’s Windows, or whatever you’re using, is that layer between your device’s hardware and its apps. Similarly, the Human Operating System is the layer between you and your skills. The superhabits that make up the “Human OS” are superhabits for managing our feelings, our decisions, and our relationships, and they underly our ability to function well in life, and to flourish.

As you probably know from experience, if you don’t update your phone or laptop OS regularly, your apps start to slow down or crash and you become more vulnerable to being hacked. There’s no point in adding more apps to try to fix the problem. You have to upgrade your OS.

In the same way, if you don’t keep your Human OS in tune, you won’t be as effective, nor as happy or healthy, as you could be. No point in trying add more skills, if your underlying Human OS isn’t functioning well.

Think about it. What is the point of having great spreadsheet development skills, or excellent writing skills, if every time you sit down at your laptop you’re constantly distracted by social media? You won’t get much done, because your Human OS is lacking the superhabit of Restraint. What is the point of trying to cultivate great leadership skills, if you have an overinflated view of yourself? You need to build the superhabit of Humility. Or what is the point of working hard to achieve your goals, year after year, only to find that your life is empty and meaningless? Your OS needs more of the virtue of Eutrapelia (the superhabit of good leisure).

Have you noticed what a mess the world is in lately? People can’t seem to get along; there’s an epidemic of anxiety and depression, especially among young people; and we seem to be unable to fix the problems that surround us. We have a desperate need to upgrade our Human OS.