A Good Soul

Over this next week, I'm going to be diving a little deeper into "eudaimonology: the study of a good soul."

Brian Johnson, the founder of Heroic, introduced me to this word and idea. I went through the Optimize Coaching program a while back. I love how Brian uses ancient wisdom and modern science to create an environment where people can learn and flourish as they chase the optimal best version of themselves. Along with world-class researchers and teachers, he created Optimize Training platform (now known as Heroic) for anyone who wants to learn to live life better and help others do the same. The basic Optimize/Heroic training platform is free and I HIGHLY recommend checking it out. The coaching course is a little more intense. A 300-day program to help aspiring coaches and people who just want to really dig into living their best lives going from theory to practice toward mastery in an organized, structured format.

The coaching program follows a series of 26 Mastery Modules that are absolutely packed with goodness. The second module introduces aspiring coaches to the Module called Eudaimonology which teaches the wisdom of Aristotle, Abraham Maslow, and Martin Seligman to name a few. We learn that "psychology" can be defined as the study of the soul. The module focuses on how we can live life with virtue, or excellence, and operationalize virtue in our daily lives. So "Eudaimonia" can be thought of as a good soul or spirit. It could also be thought of as happiness, welfare, or flourishing. There are so many modules that I think of as "my favorite" but this is one I've come back to often over the past couple of years. It's time for me to come back again.

What is it about having a good soul that is drawing me back? It's actually a few things. I've been spending time in Luke reading the teachings of Jesus. As I've been reading, I keep running into passages that take me back to my class notes. We live in a world full of mystery and questions and wrestling and waiting and asking and seeking and knocking. Yet we have these virtues of faith (trust), hope (openness), and love (connection/belonging) that we can tap into so we can flourish and live this life well. We have this soul force pulling us forward and stirring us to action and at the same time, we have this soul force that reminds us to slow down and appreciate the beauty of life and creation.

It seems a good season for me to remember that in the action and participation of life, we must also balance the being and contemplation of living life well. Living our best lives and loving and helping others live their best lives as well. This week, as I read through the Gospels, I was again impressed by the Good Soul of Jesus. I love how he lived by example and taught us how to navigate life by his teaching, but more importantly by his doing and by his being. Doing good works and being a good soul. May we each strive to follow this model of living and may we find our best selves day by day and moment to moment.