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HABITUAL EXCELLENCE
ARISTOTLE ON THE "VICTORY OVER SELF"
Do your days seem to blur together, with one looking just like the other? Does it
sometimes feel like you're in a time warp, reliving the same situations and circumstances
week after week?
If so, welcome to a problem that's at least 2,300 years old. That's when Aristotle
walked the earth, and in the remnants of his work that endure today, he offers important
observations and advice:
"The greatest of victories is the victory over self."
It's only human to want to change things about our boss, our spouse, or someone else.
But the most profound and productive changes are the ones that happen from the inside
out. They're also the hardest to achieve.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
Grand visions give us a compelling destination. But getting there requires a down-to-earth
plan and the initiative to move one foot in front of the other. If you don't have
a plan, make one. If you have a plan but it's too overwhelming, divide it into smaller
steps.
"Well begun is half done."
When it comes to gaining momentum toward positive change, there's no substitute for
taking that first step -- and immediately following with a second. So what about
you? If you're frustrated with the status quo, what have you done today to change
it?
"Happiness is a sort of action."
It works in reverse as well: Positive action can be a source of happiness. Try it
and see for yourself. |
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