A couple years ago, we chatted about Aristotle’s Virtuous Mean. Then, a year ago, we dusted off that wisdom and approached it from a slightly different angle in a +1 called Aristotle’s Doctrine of the (Virtuous) Mean.
Today we’re going to dust off that gem one more time and then take Aristotle and his wisdom to a yoga class with us. 🧘♂️
First, quick context.
In our Heroic Coach session on Movement (coming to a Mastery Series program near you in 2020! 🤓), we chatted about the fact that TOO much of a good thing is, in fact, NOT a good thing.
I actually read a passage from Aristotle’s Ethics to make the point.
He tells us: “First, then, we must consider this fact: that it is in the nature of moral qualities that they are destroyed by deficiency and excess, just as we can see (since we have to use the evidence of visible facts to throw light on those that are invisible) in the case of health and strength. For both excessive and insufficient exercise destroy one’s strength, and both eating and drinking too much or too little destroy health, whereas the right quantity produces, increases and preserves it. So it is the same with temperance, courage and the other virtues.”
Proper amount of exercise? Awesome.
Too little? Too much? Not so awesome.
The question is: Where are YOU on the spectrum of awesome?
That leads us to the yoga.
As we take aim at that nice, centered, virtuous mean, let’s remember that SOME of us need to bend ONE way while others need to bend a different way.
Back to Aristotle: “We must notice the errors into which we ourselves are liable to fall (because we all have different natural tendencies…), and we must drag ourselves in the other direction; for we shall arrive at the mean by pressing well away from our failing—just like somebody straightening out a piece of wood.”
That’s Today’s +1.
Which way do YOU need to bend?
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