Consistency and daily habits
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
— Will Durant (1885–1981), The Story of Philosophy (1926), p. 87

Consistency and daily habits

What it means

Excellence is built from repeated small actions rather than a single heroic effort. Character, in this view, is a habit we practise into being.

Often credited to Aristotle. The words are Durant’s, summarising Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics.

About the author

Will Durant — American historian, philosopher and writer (1885–1981).

Source and verification

Source
The Story of Philosophy (1926), p. 87
Reference
Will Durant on Wikiquote
Checked
Wording and source checked against the sourced section of the author’s Wikiquote page (accessed 2026-10-11).
Copyright
Short quotation from a work that is still in copyright, reproduced briefly for commentary with full attribution. Rights remain with the author or their estate.

The explanation above is ToDoMatriX’s own reading of the quote, not the author’s words.

More on consistency and daily habits

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

Annie Dillard

“You will find rest from vain fancies if you perform every act in life as though it were your last.”

Marcus Aurelius

“Therefore only an utterly senseless person can fail to know that our characters are the result of our conduct.”

Aristotle