“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit” Aristotle
Of course we all have a range of habits, good and bad. Some that serve us really well and some that hinder us in some way. All are formed by repetition. We brush our teeth each morning, reminded as children by our parents and eventually it becomes a habit. We don’t even think about it. We drive the same route to work, hardly noticing the journey unless something new or unusual happens, again repetition has made it habit.
So what has that got to do with excellence? My interpretation of this is that when striving for excellence we need to keep doing the best we can, over and over. To give our best one day and give up the next will be unlikely to produce great results. There is plenty of evidence of this – take musicians or athletes for example, even with great talent, there is always practice. The orchestra is made up of musicians who each practice daily, over and over again. The Olympics was full of athletes that practiced daily for years to be able to take part.
Some people believe we are just born with talents, perhaps this is true for some individuals. However, with or without talent, excellence comes with practice and repetition. The good news, for those of us not born with some kind of special gift, is that it is still possible to be excellent at something, just by repeated practice. So what is it you would like to be excellent at? What would you love to do?
It is said that it takes at least 21 days to make a new habit and that assumes you are doing whatever it is, every day during that period. So have a go and stick with it. Keep practicing. Take the additional step of visualising yourself doing it really well and succeeding (the same way many athletes picture themselves winning). If “We are what we repeatedly do” then who do you want to become?
Remember, this can be about anything and any aspect of life, even character traits. For example, if you want to become confident, you could practice doing things with confidence, talking and moving like a confident person; if you want to be more generous you could practice generosity and look for opportunities to give in some way each day. I’m sure you get the idea.
If you have something you want to achieve, be or do and are finding yourself stuck in any way, please give me a call on 07962 896422 and together we will make it happen.