“W

May 13th

FUELING THE HABIT   BONFIRE

“Every  habit   and capability  is  confirmed   and grows   in  its corresponding   actions,    walking by

walking,    and running by  running .   .   .   therefore,  if  you want    to  do  something   make    a   habit   of  it, if

you don’t   want    to  do  that,   don’t,  but make    a   habit   of  something   else    instead.    The same    principle

is  at  work    in  our state   of  mind.   When    you get angry,  you’ve  not only    experienced that    evil,   but

you’ve  also    reinforced  a   bad habit,  adding  fuel    to  the fire.”

—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.18.1–5

e are what we repeatedly do,” Aristotle said, “therefore, excellence is not an act but a habit.”
The Stoics add to that that we are a product of our thoughts (“Such as are your habitual
thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind,” Marcus Aurelius put it).
Think about your activities of the last week as well as what you have planned for today and the week
that follows. The person you’d like to be, or the person you see yourself as—how closely do your actions
actually correspond to him or her? Which fire are you fueling? Which person are you becoming?