Daily Plodding

[288 words] William James, psychologist and author, believed in “moral muscles.” He encouraged his patients to do at least one good deed every day, just to stay “morally fit.” He believed that a person becomes strong psychologically by resisting life’s small temptations and by doing deeds that an average person might otherwise find tedious, inconsequential, or even distasteful. To James, staying strong on the inside was related more to what one does than to what one thinks or says. James’ approach is a little like that of the mythological farm boy—a weakling who was ridiculed by all the other boys in the area. One day the youth rescued a newborn calf by picking it up and carrying it to the barn. The next day, the boy went out and held the calf in his arms, to comfort it and befriend it. The boy continued that practice day after day. Since…