Aristotle: Experiment Over Spring Break

http://funstoo.blogspot.com/2011/03/we-are-what-we-repeatedly-do-excellence.html

Over Spring Break I caught myself continuing to help others and to want to use my services to provide for those around me.  I found that it has more become an instinct rather than just an experiment or a job.  I see someone that needs help and I seem to not even have to think about it, I usually am able to step right in and help if they want me too.  This has also showed me that I have grown as an individual and that I am stronger than I have ever been.  I feel confident in myself and I believe that this has all come from me stepping out of my comfort zone and showing myself that I can make a difference and that I am able to show the world that being kind and helping others isn't a thing of the past, it is very much still able to occur in today's society.

I am so glad that I didn't just stop my experiment because the act of helping others should become a daily habit for people.  It has not only showed me that it can benefit me as an individual and the person that the random act of kindness is going towards, but it can help out communities and societies, in which is will overall have an impact on the world.  I feel as though the statement that "We are what we repeatedly do." is a very strong one and is so true.  One can view the actions of others and get the impression of what type of person they are or what they are all about.  I hope that through my actions of helping others that I have shown that I am caring, kind, considerate, and selfless.  I hope that through my good actions, that people can see the good that I hold within myself and that I am a person who loves all and will help others in a time of need.

I hope that my classmates have all had this type of reaction from their experiments and that they have continued to do the actions that they started for the thirty days and that they have made them into daily or regular habits.  I hope that it was not only a lesson, but a life lesson and one that they will continue to take with them and use.  I know that I will and I am so glad that I had this opportunity and I feel like it allowed me to take a step back and view my life and see the changes that I needed to make to become a better person.  I was able to see that all the actions that I did seemed to revolve around myself and that I was not showing others that I cared through the tasks and things that I did in my life.  I wanted to change this and I wanted to start new and great things that would show who I truly was.  I was able to start volunteering at a nursing home and learn that giving back is such a great thing to do and I have truly seen the benefits from it all and gotten a lot of positive feedback from others around who have truly seen the difference in my actions and personality.

One thing that I continue to think about is how some feel as though if they perform one act or do one thing good, then they are "excellent" or that they have completed their tasks and to me this isn't what "excellence is all about."  I agree with Aristotle and I think that it is not just some of the acts one performs, either good or bad, but it is the habits that one sets or does regularly that defines who they are or what they are made of.  I felt like I had made a huge difference in my thirty day project experiment with helping others, but I knew that just by helping others for thirty days wasn't enough and that making a habit out of it would make even a bigger difference and it wold become a part of who I am and what I do.  I have learned that by making it a habit instead of an act has allowed me to incorporate it into my everyday life and it has showed me that it isn't a task that I have to complete or check off of a list, it is something that I just do instinctively and that I don't have to force myself to do.  This has allowed me to continue to do my experiment and I believe it is something that will continue to be in my life.