Shalina May Kumar breaks down the concepts of mimetic desire; the difference between desires of nature and desires of opinion; and the Stoic approach to living a more content, satisfied life.

Cover illustration by Shanita Lyn Kumar.

As it turns out, most of the real-life superheroes we look up to — inspirational leaders, blissful spiritual masters, flamboyant billionaires, people at the top of their field — aren’t actually prodigies, geniuses, mutants or the result of cutting-edge experiments involving radioactive spiders after all. What distinguishes these mere mortals from the rest of us is instead their dedication to little consistent practices that get them to insane levels of human achievement – the small habits of super heroes.

Written by Lenny Wan.