Introduction

Going into the planning of my three-month journey, I - about a handful of times - thought to myself “What if?” and imagined things going horribly wrong. However, I have learned a lot in my first month of traveling, and spanning the last few weeks, I have looked into putting it into words. The philosophies of individualism and contentment can, like the point of most philosophies, help you become happier – and they happen to be great at reducing self-doubt, too. By the end of this blog article, you won’t find that I found a cure for self-doubt, obviously. It’s a feeling that everyone experiences and will probably experience every now and then throughout the rest of one’s life. The point is not to let it stop you from doing what you want. I sure as shit have avoided and/or missed out on doing some things because of it, but I have gotten better at not letting self-doubt put my life on pause. In this blog article, I will use the perspective of Aristotle’s philosophy on individualism and a Wes Anderson film with its display of the philosophy of contentment to share what I’ve learned and end off with a few tricks I like to use to overcome self-doubt.

Contentment and individualism

Fantastic Mr. Fox

The film Fantastic Mr. Fox is an anthropomorphic film where animals go to work, live in houses, talk about inflation, wipe their butts, and where cubs go to school. In a hole in the ground in a poor neighborhood, we meet Mr. Fox and his family. It is clear right from the start that Mr. Fox lives in a modern and consumerist society while also being a wild animal. Despite all, he wears collared shirts and a tie; he talks about rising housing costs and falling interest rates; he’s worried about job security and whether his kids go to school; and he cares about the quality of the stuff he buys. Most significantly, Mr. Fox wishes for more. In one of the first scenes of the film, Mr. Fox decides to buy a new house, a tree, as he says, “I don’t want to live in a hole anymore”. Just like a human would want a bigger apartment or house. He gets the new and bigger tree, which has a better view and is in a nicer area. However, he is still not content. He feels unhappy, and he says the following:

“Who am I, Kylie? Why a fox? Why not a horse, a beetle, or an eagle? I'm saying this more, like, as in existentialism, you know? Who am I, and how can a fox ever be happy without (forgive the expression) a chicken in its teeth?”

Part of the reason why he says this, is that he neglected his true nature when he promised his wife not to steal chickens. The last time he did so, he put the family in danger. However, he is a fox, and in the film, we learn that stealing chickens is a characteristic activity of his. Core/characteristic activities, as Aristotle puts it, are what make one flourish. More on this later.

Inevitably, being part of who he is, Mr. Fox begins stealing chickens from the chicken farmer in the new area they have moved to. This ends badly. The chicken farmer learns of the fox’s mischievous actions and puts all his time into hunting Mr. Fox and his family. The fox family has now lost their home and is on the run from the chicken farmer.

When Mrs. Fox, the wife, asks Mr. Fox for an explanation of his motives behind lying to her and bringing ruin to their family, he answers honestly; “Because I am a wild animal.”

In probably the most important scene, Mr. Fox encounters a wolf. He asks the wolf, “Where did you come from? What are you doing here?” Silence. Mr. Fox attempts to connect with the wolf in different languages, but no reply follows. After a few more attempts at communicating, Mr. Fox realizes that the wolf is a truly wild animal without the ability to speak and without the need for money or clothes. This is the scene where Mr. Fox realizes who he is. He is a wild animal, but not to the same extent as the wolf. Mr. Fox likes to dress nicely and socialize, but he also likes to hunt and steal chickens. These are his characteristic activities, and Mr. Fox allowed himself to flourish by being true to his characteristic activities. Before this, when he denied himself from stealing chickens, he was discontent. After the encounter with the wolf, having learned who he is, he can now live life to the fullest. He can appreciate the idea of living underground, because he recognizes himself to be a wild animal instead of the idealistic, above-ground, human-like belief in himself at the start of the film, which he expresses in the following quote:

“I think I have this thing where everybody has to think I’m the greatest, the quote-unquote ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’, and if they aren’t completely knocked out and dazzled and slightly intimidated by me, I don’t feel good about myself.”

The film ends as we learn that the fox family finds comfort, and more importantly contentment, in their newfound life. They have adapted to their new fugitive life and despite Mr. Fox having lost his tail and the fox family living in holes again, they are content and therefore happy.

Aristotle

Following the philosophy of Aristotle on individualism, the self is defined as an exact “characteristic” or “core” activity. Aristotle believed that one’s proper engagement in the characteristic activities of one’s species allows one to flourish. Let’s say the core activities of a hawk are flying, diving, and clawing. To deny engaging itself in these activities would be the same as denying the hawk to flourish. The same goes for humans. However, in this case, Aristotle believes that the core activities of humans are rational activities. Rational activities can be hard-to-grasp things such as deliberation, goal-directed reasoning, reasoning about what constitutes the good life, and reflection on the nature of reality.

Aristotle makes a point that humans share the generalized core activity of rationality, but the takeaway I want from his philosophy is: take a look at yourself and more specifically reflect on the things that are your core activities. Just like Mr. Fox’s core activities are dressing nicely, socializing, hunting, and stealing chickens - what’s yours? Knowing your core activities is important, but what is equally important is developing healthy ones and avoiding bad ones. This we can learn from Aristotle’s thoughts on Sparta, which was ancient Greece’s military superpower, and about them, Aristotle writes; “they would never flourish in times of peace because its constitution only trains the Spartans well for combat.” This is still relevant today. You would not be content if your core activity was to be better than everyone else, because there will always be someone better. Or you would not be content if your core activity was a materialistic one, wanting the newest and coolest stuff, because there will always be more stuff to buy and get. The Spartans’ core activity and function was to be elite warriors and to focus on war. The Spartan self, made of their core activities, is not prepared for times of peace, as Aristotle wrote. They would be left discontent without war, just like in modern times, you would be left discontent without proper engagement in core activities that suit you, and ones that are either timeless or adaptable to changing chapters of your life - for example, moving to a new city in pursuit of new career goals, giving up your current way of living in a big or small city. If you’ve only been familiar with core activities that fit your previous way of living, you - like the Spartans - won’t flourish in times of change.

Tricks I like to use

Knowing your core activities may not always help you find courage in angst moments, and you can be content all you want and still experience self-doubt. After all it’s very human. I may not have the answers and am no expert, but I have found the following tricks helpful when standing in moments of self-doubt.

1. Faking it, imitation, and manifestation

"Fake it till you make it" is a popular phrase, I think, due to it being true in most cases. Faking courage and confidence in a difficult situation can be a momentary solution and eventually a permanent solution if you manage to manifest it. What I mean by this is, imagine a person, the most confident person you can think of. I can think of one or two friends, family members, and a few celebrities. Ask yourself what that person would do in this situation. By visualizing their actions, you can imitate courage and “fake it till you make it” in situations, overcoming a fear/phobia. Doing so regularly can help you manifest it. As you fake it over and over again, you will eventually realize that it’s not so bad - unlike what your overthinking brain makes it seem. Likely, you will naturally begin to act with less self-doubt and more courage the next time you do public speaking, ask someone out, go bungee jumping, or go solo traveling.

2. Relabel anxiety as excitement

I learned recently that anxiety and excitement happen in the same part of the brain. They are physiologically almost the same, one being associated with joy, and one being associated with fear. My brain likes to imagine all the things that could go wrong before something like going solo traveling, giving a presentation, or a speech. 

Now imagine you could turn that anxiety into excitement. Well, you can, and it works! In a study by Harvard professor Alison Wood Brooks, people who tried to turn anxiety into excitement performed better than people who didn’t. The study found that expressing positive self-talk “may increase their confidence, improve performance, and boost beliefs in their ability to perform well in the future” as quoted from the study. It could be as simple as saying “I am excited”. However, to relabel anxiety as excitement, you not only have to use positive self-talk but also focus on positive outcomes. What do I mean by this? This speaks a bit into the “fake it till you make it"-ideology as you imagine hypothetical scenarios and manifest them as truths. As I mentioned earlier, my brain likes to imagine everything that could go wrong, but this method turns it around, letting the conscious overpower the subconscious. Lastly, try not to calm down. For too long I have tried to suppress anxiety and to combat it like a caveman. Instead of trying to suppress it and to calm down, turn it into energy.

Conclusion and summarization

1. Do self-discovery like Mr. Fox: Learn about what activities your “self” is made of, learn how to be content, and stop chasing what you think will make you happy or what only gives temporary joy. 
2. According to Aristotle, practicing one's core/characteristic activities is the key to reducing self-doubt and flourishing as a human being.
3. Fake your confidence and self-belief using imitation until you manifest it.
4. Relabel anxiety as excitement, use positive self-talk, and focus on positive outcomes.