We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not a act, but a habit. - Aristotle

Great quote but misattributed to Aristotle: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aristotle#Misattributed

Ah, did not realize...

Still a great quote! And for what it's worth most of the Internet also attributes it to Aristotle:

Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.

http://pandawhale.com/post/19247/be-kind-for-everyone-is-fighting-a-hard-battle

I like the "interconnectedness" of this thought. I think there's an inextricable link between attitude and habit, which brings us back to the Lao Tse quote about thoughts ultimately becoming destiny.

Adam - One of the secular books that shaped my life as a young man possibly more than any other was Covey's 7 Habits, and consequently, I think I tend to naturally think about things in terms of *actions* (realized or demonstrable things - energy that has been exercised to some demonstrable end such as a habit) more so than *thoughts* or *skills* (potential energy that could be exercised to achieve some action). Curious if you have any recommended reading that would be a good analog to Covey that look at the thoughts/skills side of things more so than the actions aspect? e.g. the other side of the coin?

I concur that attitude and habit are interconnected.

The analog to Covey IMHO is Eric Barker's blog: http://bakadesuyo.com/

He has over 5000 posts there; here are my favorites: http://pandawhale.com/ifindkarma/bakadesuyo

You become what you do. http://pandawhale.com/post/378/you-become-what-you-do

Gym M-F, if I miss a day due to a ridiculous schedule, I go twice the next day.  Occasionally I gym on weekends also, but I normally am active enough to not let it affect me.  

My drinking however causes what gains I do attain to be limited and I know the difference because I took a 2 month break from drinking socially on weekends and got in the best shape of my life, proved I could do it and went back to drinking. weird habits are both healthy and unhealthy.  

My drinking excellence and my physical excellence are both not just acts but habits according to this misquote.

What I've learned about people who drink and work out is that eventually one of the two habits becomes dominant. Because the older we get, the less compatible those two habits are.