Excellence is a habit.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

These words are as true today as they were almost 2500 years ago. And, back then, just as it probably is today, many people knew of these words but struggled to implement the message in their own daily practices. We all have habits. Many, many habits actually. What makes them habits is that we’ve done them so often that they no longer require intention for them to happen. They are not automatic- not like breathing or digesting food for example. Habits are, as far as I’m concerned, somewhere between the functions of the body, and the mind, that happen, the autonomic functions of the body, and those that require formal logical, analytical or reflective thinking. For example, if the first thing you do when you wake up and get out of bed is head to the shower, turn on the tap and run the water, step in and shower, then that is a habit. If one day, you wake up late and don’t have time for a shower, you get dressed and set out for your run, then you’ve broken a habit for that day. Tomorrow, you are most likely to go back to starting your day by having a shower. Having a shower when you wake up is too ingrained in your psyche for you not to go back and do it. That’s because having a shower first up is a habit.

But, if you decide you’re going to start running every second morning and you’ll shower after your run, then if you stuck to this goal then you’d have new habits. The shower is an innocuous habit: neither good nor bad. Running every second morning, on the other hand, is most likely a good habit to have. I say most likely, because running, while an excellent form of exercise, on its own won’t galvanize the body as much as some running and some resistance-based training, i.e. weight lifting. But, putting that aside for a moment, running is a good habit. Starting the day by checking emails, scrolling social media or the internet is not a good habit, regardless of employment, age, etc., It is just not a good way to start the day. In many ways, it is a very bad way to begin your day.

More on good and bad habits

I’ve read a fair bit on habits. I have read from both from older sources and more recent ones. There is little doubt in my mind that people have always lived a life made up of good and bad habits. While decision making behaviour is different from habits, the relationship between good habits and good decision-making appears to be close. In fact, they are inextricably linked and one impacts on the other. For example, a person who has a habit of eating healthy foods, i.e., they don’t think about cakes, cookies, chips, chocolates, when they are purchasing or constructing their food choices, is much less likely to walk into a shop and purchase a donut as a snack. This doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Rather, when on a rare occasion it does happen, the likelihood is that that person will first be drawn, because of habit, to decide to buy a piece of fruit or a healthier option. But then,

for whatever reason, though, they might really crave a sugar hit and break the habit and buy and eat a donut. Let’s not think this is the end of the world. Far from it. Because they have good habits, they’ll almost certainly go back to healthy eating on a consistent basis. The opposite would likely happen to a person who eats poorly. They will naturally gravitate to sweet or high-carb poor quality foods. Occasionally, guilt, or the biological need for nutrition, might persuade them to buy an apple instead. Hopefully, the benefit of eating wisely has such a positive impact on them, that they decide to recalibrate their eating habits entirely. However, just as with our last example, the probability is that they will go back to seeking out junk foods because it is what both their body and mind are accustomed.

The Master Habit:

There are many great habits. Right now, I am writing. Writing for 30 mins every morning is one of my habits. I can’t do it every morning. But because I’m committed to it, I do it almost every morning. I have been doing it now for 3 months and find that it is something I am compelled to do almost immediately after I wake up. Once, I set my timer for 30 minutes, I write without stopping until the timer goes off. Usually, this happens from about 5am. It happens almost every morning. Very rarely, I cannot do it. I don’t do it on weekends. Saturdays I go off to the gym at 5am. Sundays, I lie in. Recently, I have had to sacrifice writing on a Thursday as I am committed to going to the gym very early as part of my skilling up to open my own place very soon. Every other morning, I write first up. At first, it wasn’t a habit. I had to think about it. Set up my computer, write down that I would do it. And, in the first phase of trying to set this new habit, I missed quite a few mornings. My efforts were sporadic. About a month in, I started to get more regular. Now, I write first up without having to think about it very much. My partner knows that is what I do when I wake up. Even my dog understands this is my morning habit. It has become an effective way to achieve something meaningful first thing every day and I feel it sets me up for a productive day almost always. 

Writing, reading, mobility, etc., are all great habits. Some people swear by journaling every day. I also find journaling a great habit. However, what I want to write about is what I am now convinced is the master habit. And, if you’ve been reading this website since I started it, the revelation about to come is probably not going to surprise you too much. Maybe you’ve guessed it, maybe you haven’t. In any case, here it is. I believe the master habit is exercise. It should not be very surprising to anyone that a website called The Herculean Way believes exercise, and specifically a combination of strength training and conditioning, is the key activity for constructing a master plan for a life well lived. Over many years, I have given this matter a lot of thought and by combining my lifetime of philosophical reading on numerous things especially materialism vs idealism (I can go into this another time), my years of studying and analysing politics and sociology, my experience of the life and the world, and my exposure to the literature and thinking on leadership, motivation and successful living, I have determined that exercise and fitness is the foundation on which our lives rest. Of course, there have been many people who have not/do not exercise and have done much whether it be in business, philanthropy, the arts, politics, education and so on. Yet, to live a Herculean life, exercise is non-negotiable. 

This paragraph from Dr Gabrielle Lyon sums up quite succinctly the reasons why exercise is the master habit.

“Exercise is your body’s birthright. We humans were designed for physical movement, and our bodies are capable of extraordinary feats. Don’t think of training as an activity with health benefits. Instead, consider it as a baseline requirement for wellness and an essential component of maintaining health and protecting longevity.”

This is a great quote. It is an excellent way to reorient your thinking about exercise. Lyon goes on to say that exercising is non-negotiable for health and wellbeing. I would go one step further and say that for every human exercise is non-negotiable. That every human in the world should be taught that all through their lives they must lift heavy things and do something that raises the heart rate and they must do something of this type every other day if not every day.

Making Exercise your Master Habit

So, if you’ve been on a new exercise program since the beginning of the year. Congratulations, you’re on the way to forming a new identity and with it, transforming an action into a habit. The next step for you is to take your exercise up a notch by joining a group fitness gym, one that focuses on functional movements and strength and conditioning. It might be a CrossFit gym, or a strength and conditioning gym like 98 gyms. There are a lot of options out there and your choice will be dependent on where you live, your disposable income, and whether the vibe of the gym works for you or not. One tip- don’t feel intimated. Any good group fitness gym will not only cater to clients new to exercise they will cherish the opportunity to teach you the movements and the skills. Most importantly, they will be delighted to bring you into their community. It is not only good business to do so, but also the mission of any decent strength and conditioning gym. It is the mission of the strength and conditioning gym I am about to open. Whichever gym you choose, now that you’ve been on this journey for five weeks, it is very important to convert it into a life-long activity.

One very important part of this process of forging exercise as a new habit, is to imprint exercise into your identity. You are no longer trying to get fit, strong, etc, Instead, you are now a CrossFitter, a weightlifter, a runner, or whatever it is that you take up as your primary form of exercise. Once you do this, exercising becomes non-negotiable, because it has become an intrinsic part of who you are. I hope to read your transformation stories as time progresses and how by getting fitter, stronger and heathier you’ve transformed other aspects of your life.

For those of you who didn’t manage to stick with it or those of you who did stick to it but only in bits. Today is as good a day as any to start again. Get out there and sweat. You’ll feel better for it and once you’ve transformed exercise into your master habit, the road to the Herculean Way becomes clearer and a road you’re travelling. Enjoy the journey, it is never easy. If not easy, it will be satisfying, rewarding and ultimately good for you and those close to you, and as THW says, for the planet as a whole. Until next time, be Herculean.