Which exercise increases happiness the most? Hint: It's not cardio (Reissue)

0:00Hello and welcome back to Get Fit Guy. I'm Kevin Dunn, which, believe it or not, is a philosophical puzzle, which I low-key present to everyone every week. No one has yet picked up on this and emailed in, so let me explain. It's called the Puzzle of Identity, and it's one of the philosopher Bertrand Russell's problems in his 1905 essay on denoting. In short, if a definite description means what it denotes, and it denotes some object that could also be denoted by a proper name, then how can we make any sense of a claim of identity? Because Get Fit Guy is Kevin Dunn, would be equivalent to saying, Kevin Dunn is Kevin Dunn, since Get Fit Guy is Kevin Dunn. So, how is this puzzle solved? Well, if you stay tuned, I will reveal all another time. I know that everyone will be on absolute tender hooks for the theory of definite descriptions now onto this

1:06week's episodes. So, exercising is important, right? Exercising virtues is even more important, and as you will all know, if you've listened to this podcast with any degree of regularity, I don't believe that fitness is how good you look at the beach or how elite you are at any particular sporting performance, but fitness is something greater, something more whole. It can't be compartmentalized to one area of your life, and it has to be something that benefits and permeates into all facets of your existence. I have two decades, almost, of coaching, and I can tell you that what most people want isn't limited to big biceps or less cellulite, it's just to be happy. And sure, we might gaslight ourselves into thinking that looking awesome with the lights on

2:07will make us happy, just like purchasing a new item of clothing, having a haircut or getting some new jewelry, but it won't. And that's because true happiness and flourishing as a person or what Aristotle calls eudaimonia comes about by exercising not your body, but your virtues. We can find out exactly how to do this in a book that I was poked into reading recently, which is called The Nicomachian Ethics by Aristotle. Now, as a member of the human race, I myself am no stranger to wanting to be happy. Therefore, I have read and watched a lot of self-help. I've done this both for myself and for my clients. And I would say that having read it, the Nicomachian Ethics is perhaps the greatest self-help book of all time. Now, I have to tell you, it's actually a collection of 10 books, and I can't possibly give a strong summary of that in the

3:10next 10 minutes. But I'll cover some of the points, and it might compel you enough to want to learn more. I wouldn't necessarily recommend everyone rushes out to buy a copy of it, because just like a lot of philosophy, you probably aren't going to sit down with a cup of tea and abyscate and read it like a novel. Now, there are many good commentaries out there summarizing it, so maybe check out one of those. This won't be a good commentary summarizing it, but hopefully it gets you enough sort of interest level in it to think about exercising not your body, but your virtues. Now, like I said last week, practical reasoning is important, and that's where attaining goal G is important. Action A takes me closer to goal G, therefore I should perform action A. Now, if goal G is happiness and flourishing, or u-dimonia, then action A of many actions that we could

4:16take that will bring us closer to goal G, well, that is an action that should be performed. And Aristotle writes about what these actions are throughout the Nicomachian Ethics. I'd say the main points can be summarized as firstly, the function of humans and rationality. So Aristotle brigands his argument by defining the unique function of humans, which he links to rationality. Now, unlike plants and animals, humans possess what we call a rational soul, and that enables us to make decisions, pursue knowledge, and understand moral principles. Thus, u-dimonia is achieved when individuals live according to their nature, exercising their rationality in ways that cultivate virtues, which he defines as traits, that help a person perform their function well, the idea of function, and the fulfillment of one's purpose through rational activity under pins Aristotle's theory. Living a life that honors and exercises our rational capacities is for him,

5:23how humans will reach their highest potential. Therefore, happiness or u-dimonia is more than pleasure. It's the result of realizing your function. Next up is virtue and the doctrine of the mean, or sometimes it's called the golden mean, and Aristotle identifies virtue as being essential to achieving u-dimonia. Virtues or good character traits are qualities that help make a person make wise, balanced choices. In the Nicomachian ethics, he outlines two types of virtues, intellectual virtues which involve the mind, like wisdom and understanding, and moral virtues which govern behavior, like courage, temperance, and justice. In his concept of moral virtue is rooted in the doctrine of the mean, which advocates for a balanced moderate approach to action and emotion. For Aristotle, every virtue lies between two extremes, deficiency and excess.

6:29For instance, courage is a mean between recklessness and cowardice. One being an excess and one being a deficiency. Cultivating this balance means that you can regulate your emotions and actions and live more harmoniously, not with just other people, but also with yourself. The next step is the role of practical wisdom or furnaces. Practical wisdom is another cornerstone of Aristotle's path towards u-dimonia. It's the capacity to make sound moral decisions in real life situations. Now, whilst intellectual virtues can be taught, moral virtues require practice and experience to develop. Practical wisdom involves knowing not just what's good in theory, but how you achieve it in practice. It recognises the right course of action, and it takes one's personal account into social context. According to Aristotle, a person cannot

7:32achieve u-dimonia without practical wisdom, because it guides the choices that will cultivate and sustain your virtue. Next is friendship and community. Aristotle also emphasises that humans are social beings who achieve u-dimonia through relationships and contributions to their communities. Friendship is essential to a flourishing life as it provides support, companionship and moral reinforcement. Aristotle categorises friendships into three types, those based on utility, those based on pleasure, and those based on virtue, true friendships. Friendships of virtue are of the highest form because they are rooted in mutual respect and a shared commitment to each other's moral and intellectual growth. Next is contemplative life and intellectual fulfillment. Whilst Aristotle acknowledges the importance of moral and social virtues,

8:36he suggests that the highest form of u-dimonia might be found in contemplation. The contemplative life, which involves intellectual pursuits and the search for truth, is seen as the most self-sufficient, stable and fulfilling. This aligns with his belief that the reason for humanity is its highest function. Aristotle's vision of u-dimonia in the Kamaqian ethics is a holistic concept that encompasses moral, intellectual and social dimensions. It's not a momentary feeling of pleasure, but a lifelong endeavor of cultivating virtues, practicing wisdom and engaging with others meaningfully. Therefore, we can see that achieving u-dimonia is not much different from achieving any other goal because it's a process of exercising and regular practice across your lifetime. Now, I understand as well that this show is called Get Fit Guy and for many people listening and those not listening that might have kind of

9:40discovered this for the first time, that people might think that fitness is what you get on the front of a magazine that might have fitness in the title, like muscle and fitness or something like and that's to me is simply a misuse of the word because fitness has got to be about all of the parts of you and about how you can be happy. I want everyone to be happy and to achieve u-dimonia. So, if I just come on here every single week and talk about your physical fitness, I don't think it's going to make anybody happy, right? This is what I said right at the very beginning because only by practicing your virtuous life can you get to happiness and you know, I'm happy to say you know or share although they might not be happy is that you know the editor wrote to me here that you know I think this is a good episode but I think we need to tie this back to physical fitness in some way. Is there any way we can relate this back to say finding a balance between

10:46mental and physical fitness if we can draw some connections to fitness that would be a good balance and for me that's actually missing the whole point of this episode right because what I'm saying here is that you cannot be happy if you think that exercise is something that you do merely on the physical plane because unless you know your life purpose was to become an elite fitnesser then it's not going to lead to u-dimonia right because your essence wasn't to get big muscles or to get shredded at the beach. So, I have to say that I fundamentally disagree with that and how we can tie everything back to physical fitness. I don't think everything needs to be tied back to physical fitness at all because as a coach that has worked with elite athletes I can tell you that some of the people who are the most physically fit are those who are the most unhappy.

11:47So that's what I've got to say about that and I'm not really sure what people want from this podcast what people think they want to get when they tune in and listen into something about fitness and maybe people are sick tired of hearing about Aristotle and philosophy and u-dimonia and necessity but to me it's super important that we understand that physical pursuits won't make us happy and having had a job in a gym in Hong Kong and I've spoken about this in another episode where we had a client that was coming in and training three times a day who then took his own life. I've got to say that I would much rather focus on how to help people be happy than how to help them be fit in a physical sense. So thanks for listening everyone. If you have any questions or just want to say hi please email me at getfitguy at quick and dirtytips.com. Getfitguy is a quick and dirty tips podcast thanks to the team at quick and dirty

12:49tips Morgan Christians and Holly Hutchins, Brandon Getchis, Davina Tomlin and of course me if you have a question you can voicemail me at 510-353-310-4 or email at getfitguy at quick and dirtytips.com for more information about the show visit quick and dirtytips.com or check out the show notes in your podcast app.