Excellence as a Habit: How Daily Choices Shape Our Lives

Choosing to read this post instead of scrolling is already a small but meaningful habit. It shows a willingness to engage deeply with ideas, to think carefully, and to reflect on how daily actions shape who we become. This post explores a powerful truth that has echoed through centuries: excellence is not a one-time act but a habit formed through consistent choices.

Last week, I shared a simple message on Instagram: "Every day you're either becoming stronger or weaker. There's no neutral." The response was striking. Many people said it resonated deeply, even admitting they had avoided facing this reality. One person said they saved it as a daily reminder. This reaction made me wonder why this idea hits harder for those over 40.

I believe it’s because many of us lie to ourselves about consistency. We promise to "get back to it" after a busy week, or think missing a few sessions won’t matter, or plan to start eating better "soon." Meanwhile, our bodies and minds respond to what we actually do, not what we intend. Aristotle captured this 2,400 years ago: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." This means what truly defines us is not our plans or wishes, but our repeated actions over time.

This truth is both tough and freeing. It’s tough because you cannot hide from it—your current state reflects your past habits. It’s freeing because it means you can change your future by changing your daily choices starting now.

An Ancient Truth We Keep Forgetting

The idea that habits shape character is ancient and universal. Aristotle’s insight is echoed by many thinkers:

• Marcus Aurelius wrote, "Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind."

• Confucius taught, "Men's natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them."

  
  

Even the ancient Egyptians recognized the power of routine in shaping life and legacy. This wisdom has survived because it is true: habits build the foundation of who we are.

Fast forward to 1892, and psychologist William James was still trying to get people to understand: "All our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits." He warned that with good intentions alone, "hell is proverbially paved."

Your body doesn't care what you intended to do. It responds to what you actually did. Yesterday. Last week. Last year. The sum total of your repeated actions is writing itself into your muscle, your bone density, your metabolic health, your capacity to move through the world.

The question isn't whether you believe this principle. The question is: what are you practicing?

The Habits That Separate Strength from Decline

At 40-plus, your habits aren't just shaping your character—they're literally determining whether you age with strength or age into dependence.

Let me be specific.

Good habits look like this:

Training consistently. Not when you feel like it. Not when motivation strikes. Twice per week, minimum, regardless of how busy you are or how tired you feel. You show up, you do the work, you leave. This becomes who you are.

Eating with discipline. Protein at every meal. Whole foods that look like what they are. Minimal sugar and processed garbage. Not because you're "being good," but because this is how you fuel yourself for the work you need to do. This becomes automatic.

Reading and cultivating your mind. Books, not scrolling. Deep engagement with ideas, not passive consumption of content. You read for 20 minutes before bed instead of watching another episode. You think about what you read instead of moving to the next dopamine hit. Your mind stays sharp because you practice keeping it sharp. This becomes essential.

Showing up when it's hard. The session when you're tired. The meal choice when everyone else is eating poorly. The early morning when the bed is warm. These moments are where character is built. This becomes your default.

Bad habits look like this:

Training when convenient. You miss sessions because you're busy, because you don't feel like it, because something came up. You tell yourself you'll make it up later. You rarely do.

This becomes your pattern.

Eating for comfort. You reward yourself with food. You eat when bored, stressed, or emotional. You treat every day like a feast day. Your body responds accordingly. This becomes your relationship with food.

Scrolling instead of engaging. You spend 30 minutes on social media but claim you don't have time to train. You consume content rather than read deeply. You react rather than think. Your attention span shrinks, your mental discipline weakens. This becomes your default mode.

Choosing the easier option. You take the elevator. You park close. You avoid discomfort wherever possible. You tell yourself you'll start "properly" next week. This becomes your life.

Here's the brutal truth: you're practicing one of these patterns right now.

Your body is responding to what you've repeatedly done over the past weeks, months, years.

If you're strong, mobile, and capable at 50, 60, 70—it's because you practiced strength, mobility, and capability. If you're weak, stiff, and struggling—it's because you practiced weakness, stillness, and avoidance.

There's no mystery here. No genetic lottery. No secret supplement. Just the accumulated effect of what you've repeatedly chosen to do.

Why This Matters More as You Age

When you're 25, you can get away with inconsistency. Miss a few training sessions? Your body bounces back. Eat poorly for a week? You recover quickly. Your youth masks your poor habits.

At 40, 50, 60? You don't have that cushion anymore.

Every choice compounds faster. Every good habit builds capacity. Every bad habit accelerates decline. The gap between people who practice strength and people who practice weakness widens dramatically with each passing year.

This is why you see such stark differences among people in their 60s and 70s. Some are hiking mountains, lifting heavy weights, traveling independently, contributing actively to their communities. Others struggle with stairs, can't play with grandchildren, depend on others for basic tasks.

The difference isn't genetics. It's decades of accumulated habits.

The person who's strong at 70 didn't suddenly start training at 69. They practiced strength—consistently, for years. Two sessions per week. Fifty weeks per year. For twenty, thirty, forty years. That's 2,000+ training sessions. That's who they became.

The person who's weak at 70 practiced weakness. They chose convenience over difficulty. They skipped sessions. They ate poorly. They scrolled instead of moved. Not dramatically—just consistently. Small choices, repeated, compounded over decades.

Here's what most people don't understand: the compounding works both ways.

Good habits compound into capability, strength, independence, dignity. Bad habits compound into weakness, dependence, diminishment, regret.

And the older you get, the faster this compounds. At 50, you can't afford to waste another five years practicing the wrong things. Every year you delay starting good habits is a year of capacity you'll never get back.

This isn't meant to scare you. It's meant to wake you up.

You still have time. But not unlimited time. What you practice today, tomorrow, next week—that's writing your future in real time. The question is: what story are you writing?

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How to Build Excellence Through Habits

The good news is that habits can be built and changed. Here are practical steps to develop excellence as a habit:

1. Start Small and Be Specific

Choose one small action you can do daily. For example:

• Walk for 10 minutes every morning.

• Read one page of a book each night.

• Drink a glass of water before each meal.

  
  

Small wins build momentum and confidence.

2. Link New Habits to Existing Routines

Attach a new habit to something you already do. For example:

• After brushing your teeth, do 5 minutes of stretching.

• While waiting for coffee to brew, practice deep breathing.

  
  

This makes habits easier to remember and perform.

3. Track Your Progress

Use a journal, app, or calendar to mark each day you complete your habit. Seeing streaks grow motivates continued effort.

4. Focus on Identity, Not Just Outcomes

Instead of saying, “I want to run a marathon,” say, “I am a runner.” This mindset shift helps you act consistently with your desired identity.

5. Be Patient and Forgiving

Habits take time to form. Missing a day is not failure, but an opportunity to recommit. Avoid all-or-nothing thinking.

Examples of Excellence as Habit in Real Life

Athlete’s Daily Training

Elite athletes don’t rely on bursts of effort. They train consistently. Their excellence comes from repeated practice, not occasional intensity.

Writers’ Routine

Many successful writers set a daily word count goal. Writing every day, even if only a few hundred words, builds skill and produces results over time. Same goes for reading, and learning.

Healthy Eating

People who maintain healthy diets plan meals, shop mindfully, and prepare food regularly. These habits prevent last-minute unhealthy choices.

The Impact of Habits on Mind and Body

Our brains and bodies adapt to what we do repeatedly. Research shows:

• Neural pathways strengthen with repeated practice, making skills easier.

• Physical fitness improves with consistent exercise, not sporadic efforts.

• Mental health benefits from daily mindfulness or gratitude practices.

  
  

This means excellence is not magic but biology responding to your habits.

Changing Who You Are by Changing What You Do

The power of habit means you can change your future self by changing your present actions. It starts with awareness: noticing where your habits serve you and where they hold you back.

Ask yourself:

• What daily choices define me right now?

• Which habits support my goals?

• Which habits do I want to replace or build?

  
  

Then take one small step today. Excellence is built one choice at a time.

Summary and Next Steps

What Are You Practicing Right Now?

So you've read this far. That's already a choice—a small act of discipline in a world designed to fragment your attention. Well done.

Now the harder question: What else are you practicing?

Look at your last week honestly. Not what you intended to do. Not what you wish you'd done. What did you actually do, repeatedly? Did you train twice? Did you eat with discipline most days? Did you read instead of scroll? Did you choose the harder option when it would have been easier not to? Or did you skip sessions, eat for comfort, avoid discomfort, tell yourself you'd start properly next week—again?

Look, there's no judgment here. Just reality. You are what you repeatedly do. Your body is showing you exactly who you've been. If you don't like what you see, the solution isn't motivation or inspiration or waiting for the perfect moment—it's changing what you practice. Starting now.

Aristotle was right. William James was right. Marcus Aurelius was right. This truth has been staring us in the face for thousands of years: excellence is a habit.

Not an act. Not a moment. Not a New Year's resolution or a dramatic transformation. A habit. Small choices, repeated daily, compounded over time until they become who you are.

I know this isn't what you want to hear. You want the shortcut, the hack, the easier way. We all do. But there isn't one. There's just the work. The daily practice. The showing up when you don't feel like it. The choosing difficulty over comfort, repeatedly, until it becomes who you are.

At The Herculean Way, this is what we practice. Training consistently. Eating with discipline. Reading deeply. Choosing difficulty over comfort. Showing up when it's hard. Building the habits that allow you to age with strength, not surrender.

If you've been influenced by this and you're ready to start—if you live in Milsons Point or nearby and you're willing to do the work—get in touch at nbassilstrengthandtraining@gmail.com. Let's build these habits together.

Your labours await. Not as punishment, but as the path to becoming fully human.

The question is: what will you practice today?

Conquer yourself. Age with strength.