Habits
“We are what we repeatedly do, therefore excellence is not an act, but a habit.”
- Aristotle
When we study humans, we find that they are a combination of all of our HABITS.
We are who we are – our habits define us. Good or bad, they become our calling card and they become how we go about our work.
If we are a procrastinator we will habitually always be hustling at the last minute. Instead of putting the time in we have sold ourselves that we are “great closers”. What if we were to put that energy into the beginning of a project, and then kept it up throughout the time that we had to work on it? I bet our work would improve ten-fold. But it’s who we are.
What if we are negative thinkers? It has become a habit. “Heck, nothing ever good happens to me so why should I expect things to ever go differently?” This mindset will always look at the doom and gloom side of life. And when good happens they don’t take advantage of it because the bad will eventually show up and dash their hopes again … right? It will as long as they think it will. What if they saw the rough times as a teachable moment and the good times as a product of their hard work, how will this affect the habit of being negative? It could turn it 180-degrees, but it flies in the face of their habit of being negative. It’s who they are.
In the end your failures are based on your habits, just as much as your successes are your fault too.
Three Questions
Think of your habits. The things that you do that you don’t even notice anymore, because you have done them for so long. The things that, when you fail, you kick yourself for doing over and over again. Or the things that people say they wish they could be more like you.
Of those habits:
· What do you do that NEEDS to be done because it strengthens you? (What are your admirable habits?)
· What can you let go of that reduces your presence? (What are the things that you do that sabotage your progress?)
· What habit can you add to your “game” to improve on what you are doing? (How can you improve your life and, in turn, improve your path to success?)
Think about these three things. Maybe you’re still not clear on what a “habit” is. Let me give you three examples of people who have had their habits change their life for the worse.
Three Guys: Art – War - Sports
Vincent van Gogh: You may remember this guy as the artist who cut off his ear and sent it to a girl he was in love with. This, believe it or not, wasn’t the worst of his habits. This guy was his own worst critic. Vincent had the habit of creating his own chaos by ridiculing his work and his choices … DAILY. He didn’t need any help beating himself up. He eventually shot himself in the chest because he thought he was so lousy at doing what he loved. It just so happened that van Gogh shot himself just before his brother, who was his greatest fan and benefactor, arrived to tell him that his work was finally being critically recognized as true art.
Lesson: ALWAYS believe in yourself. Your moment is on its way!! Keep chopping wood!
George McClellan: This name might not be so familiar to you, unless you are in the equestrian world, where you would know what a McClellan saddle is.
George McClellan’s other vocation was as the supreme commander of the Union army during the Civil War. This guy was really sharp. He knew the answer in military situations before the other guy had even moved his troops.
So, why did he make this list? He had the nasty habit of not trusting himself. Even though he knew he would win a battle he would not send his troops in until he believed he had a huge advantage in troops and battlefield logistics.
Because of this habit he was slow to react to the confederacy and their style of war. Had he fought the battles that were at hand, with what he had in troops and battlefield superiority the Civil War would have ended in the first few months rather than four years.
Lesson: Learn how to dance in the rain - take the shot - the ball may never come your way again.
JaMarcus Russell: This young man attended Louisiana State University and would become the Oakland Raiders first pick in the NFL draft and was given a contract worth $62 million dollars over six years.
Russell was a big man who had a huge arm (he could throw the ball to any location on the field). Going from the college game to the NFL game is a huge step, especially at the position of quarterback. Not only is there a physical standard that you need to have but more importantly there is a need to prepare mentally for all of the things that can happen during a game. In college the game can be watered down and your physical condition can be monitored closer.
Instead of working hard and earning the money he was paid Russell had the habit of doing what he wanted to do, rather than what he should do. JaMarcus decided that he would go on vacation instead of preparing physically. His body weight was nearly 300-pounds when he came into camp.
As far as the mental side of the game Russell was never prepared. While most quarterbacks in the NFL are constantly watching film of their opponents, his habits led him to not watch the films he was assigned to watch. His career ended after three seasons because of poor performance. He left nearly $30 million dollars on the table when he got cut.
Lesson: Outwork everyone every day. You only control what you control - in life you control your attitude and your effort. Never let these be your downfall!
Back to You
Let’s look at those three questions again:
· What do you do that NEEDS to be done because it strengthens you? (What are your admirable habits?)
· What can you let go of that reduces your presence? (What are the things that you do that sabotage your progress?)
· What habit can you add to your “game” to improve on what you are doing? (How can you improve your life and, in turn, improve your path to success?)
I can tell you to act like this person or follow the habits of another person, but those people aren’t you. That is why it is vital that you really take time to consider for yourself the answers to these three questions.
Your answers will either lead you to failure or to success and as Aristotle said, “… excellence is not an act, but a habit.” Find what habits you have that are making your life more successful and lean into them. More importantly, look at the habits you have that cause you to fail, and move as quickly and as far away as you can from those. Lastly, watch those who are successful, what are some habits that they have that make them successful, that you can adapt into your life.
Have an amazing day!!
