Summary Of On Habits By Alain De Botton

Often times, people go on vacation to experience new and exciting adventures. The repetition of their daily life will cause them to find absolutely no thrill in their familiar setting. Their lives are even more mundane mainly because they focus on finishing one goal. This clouded mindset makes them extremely unconscious of the setting around them. Through a process explained in Alain De Botton's essay "On Habits" he supports the idea of revisiting familiar settings and experiencing them like the first time. His idea of enjoying old experiences came from a Frenchman, Xavier de Maistre, who wrote Journey around My Bedroom. In De Maistre’s book he simply puts on a pair of pajamas and uncovers the hidden adventure of his home. De Botton attempts …show more content…
Especially when the only thing in mind is finishing the goal. De Botton states, "My walks along the street had been excised of any attentiveness to beauty, of any associative thoughts, any sense of wonder or gratitude, any philosophical digressions sparked by visual elements. And in its place, there was simply an insistent call to reach the Underground posthaste"(63). He scurried to the subway and was completely ignorant to the life that surrounded him. The familiar setting instantly made him reluctant to appreciate his surroundings. De Botton was prevented from finding new interests and even feel any sense of excitement due to his goal. His mind was only able to continually think of reaching the subway on time. Due to this type of thinking, De Botton and like many others are oblivious to details on their journey. For example, De Botton missed the expression of businesspeople, the color of shop fronts, and the architecture of the sidewalk. In other words, when one is focused on a task, the brain doesn't have the capability to absorb every single aspect of its surroundings. If you think about it, that is not a good trait to have; a selfish attitude. Everyday people pass up the opportunity to discover new likings and limit themselves to only what they think they need because they only do certain things …show more content…
They are able to see minor details as long as they focus on changing their mindset. People will experience a new lifestyle and become more aware of minute specifics. De Botton says, "Under the command to consider everything as of potential interest, objects release latent layers of value"(63). De Botton's new outlook allowed him to see specific details such as Georgian pillars at a flower shop, Victorian Gothic-style gargoyles above the butcher's, and even office workers drawing a pie chart on his walk. He was able to realize that certain things are actually more valuable than they seem. The shapes that appeared in the diner actually became people and he “reflected on the new wealth that was spreading into the areas” (64). Based on our own intentions, that will result on how we see the world. One must disassociate the memories of a certain place and look at it with a new outlook. They must also have an empty mind that is not focused on anything. This allows individuals to shape the way they want to see the world. No one else has control of that but you. People will start to realize things they never even thought of. Items can be more than of use but also full of beauty. De Bottom states, “It felt peculiar to be outside in the middle of the day with no particular goal in mind” (62). He was not use to the thought of just freely walking to the train station. He repeated his daily path to