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One harmful habit that can prevent anyone from reaching their potential is self-indulgence. This is when a person encounters difficulties and instead of overcoming them, he turns to harmful vices in an attempt to calm himself down.
This practice is prevalent in a generation forced into participation trophies and grade inflation, and many academics and psychologists now believe it does more harm than good.
Stories from World War II are helpful.
A mortar crew prepares for battle on Guadalcanal. Sid Phillips, second from the right, is crouching. (Photo courtesy of Sid Phillips Estate)
The Marines of H/2/1 had been engaged in heavy fighting on Guadalcanal for several weeks. Carbon rations had run out, and the troops were only allowed two meals a day, mixed with moth-eaten rice confiscated from the enemy and scraped coconut bits.
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Pfc. Sid Phillips (star of the HBO miniseries “The Pacific”) becomes increasingly concerned about his friend from back home, W.O. Brown, who was suffering from severe ringworm. Everything Brown tried to eat went straight into him.
There were no drugs. There is no crib to lie down on. The sick people were just lying on the ground. Brown became emaciated and so weak that he could barely sit. He had diarrhea and was covered in flies as he lay there.
Local friends WO Brown (left) and Sid Phillips are packed into the photo booth. (Photo courtesy of Sid Phillips Estate)
Brown’s friend Phillips eventually lived to be 91 years old. Before he passed away in 2015, I interviewed him for the best-selling book Voices of the Pacific: Co-authored with historian Adam Makos, “The untold stories of the maritime heroes of World War II.” I asked Phillips about his experience on Guadalcanal.
“It was horrible,” Phillips told me. “I didn’t think WO would survive.”
Each day, during a lull in the fighting, Phillips would take his friends to the sea and help them get clean.
I asked Phillips if he remembered any specific conversations he had with Brown during this time. Here, I was expecting a touching story. I pictured this young, battle-hardened Marine carrying his dying partner out to sea. “Good luck,” Phillips whispered. “Be brave. Think of your mother and apple pie.” Something like that.
Sid Phillips and his sister Catherine after the war. (Photo courtesy of Sid Phillips Estate)
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But Phillips just laughed. “Oh, yes, I remember very well. I told the WO to stop being such a liar and to take the salt tablets.”
The answer surprised me. I asked Phillips, who eventually became a highly respected physician in Alabama, what his strategy was.
“Well, it doesn’t help a man to be overly sympathetic,” Phillips said. “It only brought him down. But when you teased him, he smiled. All that ribbing was witty. He gave you some wise words. He will shoot back, and soon he will start fighting again.”
Can Philips’ strategy still be applied to today’s generation?
Cover of “Voice of the Pacific” by Adam Makos and Marcus Brotherton
Phillips respected W.O. Brown as a man capable of getting up, moving forward, and overcoming difficulties. Today’s generation needs to be taught to believe the same about themselves. We are much stronger than we think.
People who are depressed, frustrated, angry, tired, hurt, lonely, stressed, frustrated, etc. are always tempted to become overly self-compassionate. This creates an insidious and indulgent mindset that it’s okay to take a break just once.
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I’m not talking about lounging on the couch with a bag of potato chips. It’s not that kind of break.
I’m talking about giving in to the lie that it’s okay to turn to your favorite vices. No one is immune to this urge. We are tempted to run away from things that ultimately harm us. Because it’s easy to convince yourself that it’s useful. It’s the worst kind of self-indulgence and ultimately only harms us.
Dr. Sid Phillips, who passed away in 2015, and his beloved dog. (Photo courtesy of Sid Phillips Estate)
What is the solution?
Be tough. Overcome the difficulties. Take a salt tablet and get back into the fight.
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Yes, there are frustrations in life. However, there is no need to drink excessively. We don’t need insidious vices like pornography. There’s no need to succumb to a moment of anger on the highway. Not really. But it’s so easy to convince ourselves that we do.
By the way, the strategy of being tough on yourself works.
WO Brown survived rubella and the war.
Click here to read more from Marcus Brotherton
