“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

— Will Durant’s translation of Aristotle

We are what we repeatedly do and we believe what we repeatedly think. “I AM” are the two most powerful words we can say to ourselves because whatever we follow that with is how we identify ourselves and expresses what we believe about ourselves. The language we use carries power. Whatever we repeatedly say will slowly become a Habit of thought and that habit will solidify a core belief within us. It’s those core beliefs that will then dictate our actions and those actions become what we repeatedly do. Our lives will be a summation of the actions we take habitually.

If I’m constantly telling myself a story that is some version of: “I AM” too much of this or “I AM” not enough of that, then I am reinforcing ideas that will eventually determine the daily actions I take.

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Up to 40% of our daily lives are repeated with behaviors and activities that are in near-exact as the day before. Day after day we think the same thoughts, drive on the same roads, eat the same set of foods and do the same tasks. We slip into a what feels like a robotic trance of thoughtless habit.

Those daily actions, Repetition, routine, ritual and consistency known as our habits dictate who we are and what we become. Living a life of success and happiness is not an accident, it’s a habit. Our habits of action will dictate what we become which will then reinforce the language and beliefs we have and around we go. Our quality of life, feelings of success and our sense of wellbeing become a self-fulfilling prophesy.

In order to change what we think of ourselves and what our future self becomes, were going to have to Act our way in to a better way of thinking because we simply think up better actions. To change our thoughts, we start with our actions.

The most important aspect of habit formation is getting started. Every small act can make an enormous difference in our life so Start by doing Just one thing! Even if we don’t feel like it, do it anyway. The actions lead and the belief will follow.