Aristotle is credited with the following quote, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Someone who knows I am a quote person read this to me recently. A side note: when she first read it to me, I thought she said a quote by “Eric Stottle.” I had no idea who Mr. Stottle was but was happy to see he provided the world with such a fantastic statement. After she corrected me, I was not surprised the author was Aristotle. He was a wise man indeed.

I wrote a column recently about the Whole Life Challenge. It is an eight-week, web-based challenge that focuses on seven areas: nutrition, fitness, mobility, lifestyle, water intake, sleep, and reflection. I am currently over half way through my second eight-week challenge.

The challenge is a great example of Aristotle’s quote. The reason that program is eight weeks long is because that is how long it takes to form new habits.

Let’s talk about the nutrition portion of the program. I get up early to get to the gym before work. I feel nauseous if I work out on an empty stomach so I usually grab something small before my workout. Later, when I leave for the office, I make sure I grab something to eat at the office because by 9:30 a.m. I will be hungry and will start to feel nauseous again.

Before the Whole Life Challenge, my initial pre-gym breakfast could have been anything from a muffin or toast to fruit or applesauce. My mid-morning breakfast could have been anything from Goldfish crackers or cheese to an apple with peanut butter or veggies and hummus. You can see I wasn’t completely unhealthy in my choices but I wasn’t consistently fueling myself the best I could.

Fast forward to the end of the first program and the consistency of choosing the healthiest options was much stronger. It took those eight weeks to form new habits. In my second round of the challenge, those habits are growing even stronger.

Health is not a one-time action but rather, it is a pattern of actions. When I repeated the action of choosing the best options it became a habit and now choosing the healthiest options, saying no to a paczki Tuesday, or skipping dessert more often than not is now second nature. Had the challenge lasted less than eight weeks, the habits formed wouldn’t have been as strong. They would be easier to stray from and healthy choices would revert to singular acts and not on-going habits.

Nutrition and exercise are two of the easiest examples to use when we talk about forming new habits. But what about Aristotle’s words? He said excellence is not an act but a habit. We may do excellent things in individual instances but does that mean we are worthy of being described as excellent? What happens when we are repeatedly excellent?

We don’t do one good thing, then sit back and say we are now excellent because we did one good thing. I was presenting to a college class recently about leadership in business. One of the things I talked to them about was continuously learning and improving. If you are a good leader once, but never seek to grow, change, and progress in your leadership, then you will have experienced a singularly act of good leadership. But repeatedly being a good leader because you are growing, adapting and progressing is what will make you an overall effective leader.

Think about a person you know who you would call a genuinely nice person. What makes that person different? I can guess the difference is the repeated acts of kindness versus singular, stand-alone instances of kindness.

Think about someone you would describe as a hard worker. What makes that person different? I would guess the difference is the person is repeatedly a hard worker and not in just one instance.

If I asked someone else to describe you to me, what would you hope they say? The kind of person we are does not come about because of a singular act or a handful of acts. Who we are is consistently formed through habits that take time and repeated behaviors. Think about what you want to be known as. Is there one thing you can do every day to practice? Who we are is not an accident. It is not a singular act but a habit formed over time. Habits can be molded and developed. What habit do you want to craft more strongly? Today is as good a day as any to start.

Jackie Krawczak is president/CEO of the Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce. Her column runs bi-weekly on Thursdays. Follow Jackie on Twitter @jkrawczak.