“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
— Aristotle · 384 – 322 BCSource: The Story of Philosophy, Will Durant (1926) · Check the source
Disputed attributionWhat we know
- What is documented
- The exact sentence is a modern paraphrase popularized by Will Durant; it encapsulates Aristotle's claim that moral virtue is formed by habituation.
- What remains uncertain
- Scholars note the wording is not a verbatim quotation from Aristotle and is commonly misattributed to him.
Understanding the quote
The core insight is that excellence is a lasting disposition formed by repeated practice rather than a single deed. The line speakers often cite compresses Aristotle's ethical claim about habit into a neat slogan, even though that exact wording is a modern paraphrase.
The story behind it
The famous wording was popularized by Will Durant in his 1926 book The Story of Philosophy, not quoted verbatim from Aristotle's surviving texts.
Going further
- The era
- In the 4th century BC, when Greek thinkers debated how a whole life becomes good through practice and training.
- The thinking
- It reflects virtue ethics: building character by repeatedly doing the right thing until it becomes second nature.
- Key word
- Habituation: forming stable character traits by repeating actions over time.
- Who quoted it
- Frequently used across leadership, education, sports and self‑help as a memorable rule about behavior and identity.
Three challenges to live it
In the app, you pick the one that fits your day, and in the evening you say how it went.
Write for 10 minutes about one daily habit you repeat — describe the trigger, the exact steps, and the effect you expect.
Aristotle ties excellence to repeated actions. Writing clarifies a habit's mechanics, making it easier to refine or reinforce toward excellence.
Take a 20-minute active walk at a set time and in a consistent pattern (same route or ritual) to practice a repeatable physical habit.
A repeated physical ritual shows how excellence is embodied through practice. Regular walks make the link between small actions and steady improvement tangible.
Schedule three micro-actions today to repeat daily this week (each ≤10 minutes) and add them to your calendar with reminders.
Excellence grows from repeated practice. Scheduling tiny, repeatable actions makes consistency achievable and builds habit over time.
How do your daily habits shape who you become over months and years?
Report an error
Does an attribution, a source or a translation look wrong? Tell us: every report is read, and the entry is corrected if needed.