Understanding the Virtues as Superhabits

Have you ever watched a child learn to walk? As I wrote this, our grandson Owen was in this phase. We watched him as he carefully, intently took each step, concentrating so hard that his tongue was sticking out between his teeth. He had the muscles and the balance, but he had to concentrate hard to take each step because he didn’t yet have the habit of walking. It wasn’t yet automatic (though it soon became so). 

In similar fashion, adults struggle, not with walking, but with managing our feelings, thoughts, and actions. As a result, instead of doing such things fluidly and effectively, we, like little Owen, too often have to concentrate hard to take each step, whether to handle a strong emotion, make a difficult decision, or deal with a problematic colleague.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Over the last few decades, the field of positive psychology has been rediscovering this set of foundational habits, including in particular the ones classically referred to as the cardinal virtues: prudence/practical wisdom, justice, fortitude/courage, and temperance/self-discipline. Alongside this work has been a renewed interest in the classical authors themselves, particularly Stoic philosophers like Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. 

Empirical research in psychology is confirming the ancients claims: that each of these habits contributes to a more effective and flourishing life. So much so that you can think of each as a “superpower habit” because of the tremendous boost that each one gives to human wellbeing and success. I’ve taken to calling them “superhabits.”

What’s missing from this rediscovery, though, has been an explanation for why these particular habits are chosen. What is generally accepted is that the four cardinal virtues are central or pivotal for a flourishing human life (“cardo” is the Latin word for pivot). But why these four? 

I found the answer buried in the middle of the Summa Theologiae, the enormous thirteenth century work by St. Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas explains how each of the cardinal virtues addresses an important aspect of our daily lives. Self-discipline and courage are for managing our feelings of attraction (desires) and repulsion (fears), respectively; self-discipline is the habit of only following your desires when it makes sense to do so, and courage is the habit of moving forward despite fear. Practical wisdom is the habit of making wise decisions, which handles our thoughts, and justice, the habit of being fair and respectful to others, addresses our actions.

Feelings, thoughts, and actions: that pretty much sums up our daily lives. So, if you have the cardinal virtues, you have every aspect of your daily life covered. (Aquinas also included virtues that transcend our daily lives, the intellectual and spiritual virtues; he was himself a scholar and a monk). 

Aquinas then showed how each of the cardinal virtues has several smaller, related virtues that are easier to acquire individually and that together cover every likely circumstance of daily life. Self-discipline, for example, the superhabit for managing our desires, has related virtues for dealing with both physical desires, such as for food (the virtue of abstemiousness, the habit of eating the right amount of food in each circumstance), and non-physical desires. The virtues for the latter address desires to do things, to know things, and to be in control of things. Those for handling desires to do things include humility, for the desire to do great things, and restraint, for the desire to do petty, unworthy things. 

In a certain sense, it all begins with the superhabit of restraint because if we are unable to restrain our unworthy desires, then we have little hope of achieving a flourishing life. Research shows that people who have developed the habit of restraint tend to eat healthier, exercise more often, and avoid excessive use of alcohol (Baumeister & Tierney, 2012). Children with this habit tend to have higher grades, better school attendance, and better standardized test scores. All of which result in higher self-esteem, stronger interpersonal relationships, reduced eating disorders, and overall both short and long-term happiness and life satisfaction, as well as better physical and mental health, fewer substance-abuse problems, and greater financial security. Restraint truly is a superpower, a superhabit.

Superhabits have all the benefits of regular habits and a whole lot more. They are like regular habits in that they can be cultivated through regular, daily practice. Once acquired, they allow you to do the thing they are about more quickly and easily. So, if you worry perhaps that you could never have true restraint, think again. Through small, repeated steps, anyone can acquire them. 

Here’s a more trivial example of habit formation. I used to hate packing. I am not a detail-oriented person, so whether it was for a business trip or for a vacation, I used to get stressed by having to remember and organize everything I needed for my journey. Often I ended up tossing a bunch of clothes into a bag, and then not having some things I needed, while carrying stuff I didn’t need. Eventually I got into the habit of using a packing list and working through it from top to bottom. Now my packing is done quickly and without stress. Packing has become a habit for me. It’s now easy and effortless. 

But packing is not a superhabit. Superhabits are different from simple habits like brushing your teeth, making your bed, wearing your seatbelt—or packing to go on a trip. They are different in three ways. First, they have a broad scope. Take restraint, for example. Once restraint is acquired, it can be applied in any aspect of life: at work, while studying, while keeping your home organized, and so on. The habit of packing, on the other hand, is just applicable to, well, packing. It’s not a superhabit because its scope is narrow. (Although the discipline of building a habit like packing, which involves learning to restrain myself from just tossing a bunch of clothes into my bag, can contribute towards building a superhabit like restraint). 

In addition to having a broad scope, superhabits also make you happier and healthier. When I finish packing, I’m glad to be done with the chore, and may be pleased about it, but that’s a temporary feeling. Superhabits, by contrast, have a lasting effect on your happiness, as extensive research indicates. As we grow in each superhabit, we grow in happiness. We also get healthier. As we saw above, there’s ample scientific evidence that the superhabit of restraint contributes to both lasting happiness and health. 

In the case of restraint, the link with health is clear: restraint in what we eat and drink leads to a healthier life. But the health effects of superhabits exist even when there isn’t such an obvious link. A number of experiments have been done to study the superhabit of gratitude, the habit of being thankful for good things you have received. They show that as you grow in gratitude, by keeping a daily gratitude journal, for example, not only do you become happier, but you also experience a reduction in depression, anxiety, and chronic pain. How does that work? We’re not sure, but there’s clear evidence that it does happen. 

I can’t emphasize enough that superhabits are still habits—you acquire them through practice, a little bit at a time. It doesn’t matter at what level you begin, genetically or in terms of upbringing—anyone can acquire any superhabit, through practicing little steps.  

Editor’s Note: Dr. Andrew Abela will be livestreaming two in-person speaking events related to his new book, Superhabits: The Universal System for a Successful Life. He will be at the Catholic University of America on Tuesday, October 22nd, 2024, at 6pm ET and at the Catholic Information Center on Thursday, October 24th, 2024, at 6pm ET. All are welcome to join either in-person or virtually. Please RSVP prior to the events using the links above.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash