Doing is becoming

In in his book Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle writes: “We become builders by building houses, harpers by playing the harp. Similarly, we become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.”

Becoming the type of person you want to become is a matter of finding actions that prove you are that person, and doing them.

In high school, I was terrified of dancing. I told myself, “I’m not a dancer.” But then in the last dance of the year I mustered the courage to dance and, in that moment, I became two things: brave and a dancer.

This is enticing to think about:

You are mere actions away from flipping the past on its head and becoming someone who is more aligned with who you want to be in the future.

The inverse is true as well. If you are not performing actions aligned with the type of person you want to become, you are not on a path to become that person.

What you choose to do now and moving forward shapes who you become.