You Are What You Do

“You are what you repeatedly do.”

- Aristotle

What you repeatedly do, which is how you spend your time and energy, shows others what you prioritize and value.  To other people, you are your actions, words, gestures, tone, etc … or lack thereof.   Let’s think of these as your outputs. From this point of view, if your output is that you repeatedly complain, then others will see you as a complainer.  If you repeatedly blow up and cuss people out then you will be seen a hothead.  Or, are you enjoying a chance to laugh with a friend, color with your daughter, or give your spouse a good 10 second kiss?

Specifically, are you paying attention to you as an active agent in the creation of how others see you? And, does the image that your creating match up with the who you think you are and want to be?

Why this is important should be obvious: 

Our actions show our personality and create our reputation, and then our reputation creates our opportunities.

Application:

1.     Take some time to think about what you’re showing people through your actions? Don’t turn on the podcast on your way home.  Sit with this idea and reflect on your interactions over the day, the last week, the last year, etc..

2.     How well does this reflection match up with the person you believe yourself to be, and want to be?

3.     The areas of mismatch are ripe for action.  Sit down with yourself and get a clear picture of what “right” looks like to you. What actions would you be doing if you were presenting the person that you want to be?

4.     List out situations that you usually repeat the negative outputs and practice the new actions (visualize it, rehearse a new script, etc…).

5.     Then, set an appointment with yourself, set a time in your schedule, to check in with yourself to see if you’re moving the needle in the direction of your choosing.