“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.”
-Aristotle
While I’m reluctant to second guess a famous Greek philosopher, I THINK that his quote can be fairly interpreted to mean that excellence isn’t an endowment, bestowed upon the lucky by the gods. Excellence is a learn-able trait for those who will consistently strive and seek to grow. He doesn’t suggest that excellence is easy to attain. I suspect that we all know better than that.
Another Aristotle quote reminds us – if I dare paraphrase – that learning to be excellent will surely NOT be easy, but it WILL be worthwhile. Developing the habits which allow us to evolve into our most excellent selves will be very hard, but we deserve no less than the “fruit” of our excellence.
“The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” -Aristotle
You’re worth it!
