16 September 2013

That Aristotle...

Today, I am thinking about that crazy cat Aristotle.  Because he said this:

We are what we repeatedly do. 
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.



Word.  What I've been thinking is that if you substitute anything for the word "excellence," you have the secret sauce for a good and happy life.

Compassion is not an act, but a habit.
Love is not an act, but a habit.
Laughing is not an act, but a habit.
Patience in not an act, but a habit.

Or, perhaps more apropos for a tired mama:

Not yelling is not an act, but a habit.

Either way, if I am what I repeatedly do, then based on this weekend, I am a driver, a sigher, a facebooker, a junk-food eater, a yeller, a striver, and a soccer mom.

I'd like that list to look different.  I'd like to delete some things, add some things...I'd like to have some different habits.

I'd also like to be a blogger.  So according to Aristotle, I must, in fact, blog.  Habitually.

See?  That's why he's a great philosopher!  He says true stuff!

What habits are you after this week?

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1 comment:

Homemaker Man said...

Yeah, you have GOT to get rid of "soccer mom." So far this week, I'm an exaggerated sigher, head-shaker, and "evil hippo."

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