“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.”
-Aristotle-
Life Athletics, for those of you new to the site, is about living your life well. It’s not about being anything other than the best version of you. To that end, best practices are sought out and highly valued. The core of a Life Athlete's philosophy is that they are defined by their actions and thoughts. They are their habits of thought and habits of action. If you want to have a better life, start with cultivating better habits.
Classifying your habits into the categories of thought and action is convenient but can be misleading. We’re still going to keep doing it but first; an attempt to clarify. Often our actions are governed by our habitual thoughts. In other words, they’re connected. Being aware that the things you do regularly are a direct result of the way you regularly view yourself and the people and things around you is a powerful and necessary step in building yourself into the person you want to be.
Every week Life Athletics is going to highlight another habit. It might be one of thought, or of action. It could be something to do with finance, or romance, or fitness or... anything really. Don’t feel like you need to try to adopt each one mentioned. Try them on, see how they fit and keep the ones that you think will improve your life, leave the rest.
The habit this week is the foundation for living the life you want. Make this thought a part of you: “I am responsible.”
Now, quickly... how did you react to that? Some of you have already internalized this practice to a high level and will just nod and move on. Others will read “take all the blame” where I wrote “be responsible” and for those people it needs to be made clear that responsibility has NOTHING to do with blame. Responsibility simply relates to having a say in the matter and that your experiences are yours. As soon as you resist that concept, you’re setting the table for upset. If you are not actively living as though you are the cause of the experiences in your life, you are going to struggle and will until you give up that practice and adopt complete responsibility for your life. If you LOVE your job, you’re responsible. If you HATE your job, you’re responsible. If you tolerate your job, you’re responsible. Hopefully by this stage you’re getting the point. No matter what you’re experiencing in your life, claiming total responsibility will allow you to begin moving towards something you truly want.
As a teen, my chiropractor broke the word down for me as “the ability to respond” and I think that’s a beautiful way of looking at it. Unless you accept that you hold total responsibility for your life, you won’t be able to respond to anything powerfully and you certainly won’t be able to put any new habits in place that will make you a more effective Life Athlete.
This week:
-Look at 1-3 situations in your life where you’re happy and fulfilled and pat yourself on the back. Congratulate yourself for creating those in your life and being open to experiencing them.
-Look at 1-3 situations in your life where you’re not happy of satisfied and ask yourself “if I was 100% responsible for the success of this situation who would I be and what would I do?”
-Journal your responses.
-Aristotle-
Life Athletics, for those of you new to the site, is about living your life well. It’s not about being anything other than the best version of you. To that end, best practices are sought out and highly valued. The core of a Life Athlete's philosophy is that they are defined by their actions and thoughts. They are their habits of thought and habits of action. If you want to have a better life, start with cultivating better habits.
Classifying your habits into the categories of thought and action is convenient but can be misleading. We’re still going to keep doing it but first; an attempt to clarify. Often our actions are governed by our habitual thoughts. In other words, they’re connected. Being aware that the things you do regularly are a direct result of the way you regularly view yourself and the people and things around you is a powerful and necessary step in building yourself into the person you want to be.
Every week Life Athletics is going to highlight another habit. It might be one of thought, or of action. It could be something to do with finance, or romance, or fitness or... anything really. Don’t feel like you need to try to adopt each one mentioned. Try them on, see how they fit and keep the ones that you think will improve your life, leave the rest.
The habit this week is the foundation for living the life you want. Make this thought a part of you: “I am responsible.”
Now, quickly... how did you react to that? Some of you have already internalized this practice to a high level and will just nod and move on. Others will read “take all the blame” where I wrote “be responsible” and for those people it needs to be made clear that responsibility has NOTHING to do with blame. Responsibility simply relates to having a say in the matter and that your experiences are yours. As soon as you resist that concept, you’re setting the table for upset. If you are not actively living as though you are the cause of the experiences in your life, you are going to struggle and will until you give up that practice and adopt complete responsibility for your life. If you LOVE your job, you’re responsible. If you HATE your job, you’re responsible. If you tolerate your job, you’re responsible. Hopefully by this stage you’re getting the point. No matter what you’re experiencing in your life, claiming total responsibility will allow you to begin moving towards something you truly want.
As a teen, my chiropractor broke the word down for me as “the ability to respond” and I think that’s a beautiful way of looking at it. Unless you accept that you hold total responsibility for your life, you won’t be able to respond to anything powerfully and you certainly won’t be able to put any new habits in place that will make you a more effective Life Athlete.
This week:
-Look at 1-3 situations in your life where you’re happy and fulfilled and pat yourself on the back. Congratulate yourself for creating those in your life and being open to experiencing them.
-Look at 1-3 situations in your life where you’re not happy of satisfied and ask yourself “if I was 100% responsible for the success of this situation who would I be and what would I do?”
-Journal your responses.