As a child, I was encouraged to cultivate good habits and discouraged from acquiring bad ones. An example of a good habit might have been brushing my teeth each night before I went to bed; an example of a bad habit might have been eating too much sugary food. Another good habit was taking regular exercise; another bad habit was smoking cigarettes. From a child’s perspective, good habits always needed to be cultivated – that is, they needed regular work and attention – because they were not things that one would have done instinctively. Given the choice, plenty of sugar and no toothpaste would seem far more enjoyable. Likewise, the appeal of bad habits called for an effort of resistance, since they held out the promise of immediate gratification, whatever worries one might have about long-term harms. I learned that nurturing the right habits is hard work, requiring us to swim against the flow of pure contentment, against our natural predilection for easy pleasures.
As an adult, I have come to regard this approach as too simplistic. For sure, it matters that we make good choices about daily health and hygiene, but it matters more that our habits – both of behaviour and thought – are truly ours, that is, that they are chosen by us rather than adopted unreflectively. Habitual ways of thinking and acting are bad for us not just when they lead us into foolish or unhealthy actions, but also when they are acquired without thoughtful consent. Just as the smoke from someone else’s cigarette can damage our lungs, so too the passive acquisition of habits can damage our character.
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