“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle
What do we repeatedly do? If I take a minute to step back and examine my life, it is sobering. It is true that this is a period in my life where I have, by far, less time than I have ever had in my life. With two kids under two years old, it is a chaotic and messy time. I just don’t have the structure I used to have (or at least the structure I could have chosen to have–not that I was always structured).
I keep hearing from people that is the most labor-intensive time of parenting, and that in the coming years I will have more time. I won’t always have to change diapers and bathe and clothe my kids because eventually, they will be able to function independently. They will go to school. They will have activities that keep them occupied. But right now, it is me feeding them, it is me on the floor playing with them, it is me going to them when they cry. I attend to all of their needs–and they have a lot.
When I think about what I repeatedly did before my kids arrived though, I feel a bit sad, really. I realize how much time I frittered away and how very unfocused I was on pursuing my purpose.
Aristotle’s quote also makes me consider how I want to use my time going forward, because as much as I would like to redo certain parts of my life (wouldn’t most of us?), I can’t. And even though I don’t have the amount of time I used to, I realize that having time isn’t even the point of Aristotle’s thought.
We all have the same 24 hours in a day. What we do with that time varies widely from person to person. He is merely pointing out the fact that if we do something over and over, it will become a habit and that if we want to become excellent, we must practice excellent habits.
Therefore, even in my day–though it looks so different than it used to–I can create habits of excellence. I want my kids to get appreciate nature, so that means we go on walks as often as possible. I want them to learn to be responsible, so we pick up our toys every night before bed. (Of course, my son is only two next month but he has already learned work beside me or my husband as we gather the toys and put them in their designated bins at night.) I want my kids to be healthy and strong, so I focus on giving them healthy food.
All of these little things are habits (or habits in the making) and they are important. Sometimes it is easy to dismiss little things we do in our day as insignificant but it is in these small things that the bigger picture is created.
