Published in the International Black Belt Academy newsletter 4/1/07.
Aristotle was a famous Greek philosopher who lived from 384 B.C to 322 B.C. The author of approximately 150 books, he is well known for being one of the most influential philosophers in western thinking. Mentored by Plato, Aristotle went on to teach others about topics such as dreams, mathematics and logic. He spoke extensively about rationality and ethics.
Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Therefore, excellence is not an act, but a habit.”
Can you imagine that such an important life lesson was written well over two thousand years ago? In this modern world where we are required to make thousands of small decisions–and many big ones–each day, this lesson is more important today than ever.
As a young woman, I anxiously waited for that one “big thing” to happen to me. I grew older believing that one major accomplishment would prove myself worthy of occupancy on this great earth. I believed that doing something “great” would validate my existence, and squelch the need to question my value or significance.
But as time went on, I became frustrated. And one day I mistakenly cut someone off in my car. When the other car honked at me, I—without thinking–made a nasty hand gesture and continued driving. At the next stop sign the driver of that car got out and approached my window. It was a young woman and she looked upset. “Why did you do that?” she asked. I looked her in the eye and thought for a moment, expecting a witty reply to come out of my mouth. But I had none. I did not have an answer.
I had done something wrong, made a mistake—and the consequences hadn’t even occurred to me. My actions had affected someone. I was not an anonymous dweller in this world, rather someone whose behavior was openly seen and experienced by others. It was at that moment, as I apologized to the driver for my thoughtlessness, that I decided to live my life differently. I realized that it wasn’t the big events that proved my worth—it was all the little ones, and I chose to live each moment after as if it was the important life changing one I had been waiting for.
The kind words we share with friends, helping someone carry their bags, listening to an individual who needs to “talk it out”–these are the things that make us important to this world, to the community, to our friends and our families. Each of us can live our lives with this kind of goodness in mind—all it takes is the desire to do so. And we can start today.
We can all live in this habit of excellence, as Aristotle spoke of, because shaping our lives around the practice of performing small acts of kindness and goodness will actually be our greatest act of worthiness and significance in this universe.
