#797 Agency = Doing

In our last couple +1s, we’ve been talking about Agency. I promised we’d get into how The Power of Agency guys tell us we can build our agency.

But, first, let’s take a quick trip down Etymology Lane.

Do you know what agency literally means? (I didn’t before I consulted the works of art known as my dictionaries! 🤓)

Agency is from a Latin word that means “doing.”

← Isn’t that awesome? (Perhaps it’s the nerd in me, but I find that absolutely epic.)

So… If we want a strong sense of personal power—or, as the scientist-clinicians among us put it: “the ability to act as an effective agent for yourself—reflecting, making creative choices, and constructing a meaningful life.”—then we need to DO THINGS!!

Specifically, we need to DO THE THINGS WE SAY ARE IMPORTANT TO US.

In The 5 Second Rule, Mel Robbins actually talks about Aristotle’s ideas on the same theme.

He basically said that the ONLY (!!!) way to BE a virtuous (kind, courageous, etc.) person is to DO the things a virtuous (kind, courageous, etc.) person does—which, of course, are VIRTUOUS THINGS! (Hah.)

For the record, as per his Nicomachean Ethics, here’s Aristotle’s succinct description on how to flourish: “But what is happiness? If we consider what the function of man is, we find that happiness is a virtuous activity of the soul.” (← Bold emphasis on “activity” mine.)

(He also tells us: “Moral virtues, like crafts, are acquired by practice and habituation.”)

That’s Today’s +1.

Let’s DO what we know we need to/should do/want to do if we’re serious about Optimizing and actualizing!

5… 4… 3… 2… 1…

Knuckle bumps and high fives to you and your daimon!

🤜 🤛