"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit." (Aristotle)

Building on the habits of success

Our habits, good and bad, create our lives. Our good habits create the structure in our lives, to support the success, and well-balanced lives. The good habits that we create provide the foundation, they allow us to build on top of this. 

I had my annual "staycation" recently, an opportunity for me to take time off, to explore new areas and ideas, and to reflect on life. This year my staycation included a tour of the Bodleian Library in Oxford, the York Minster Cathedral and the Multangular tower in York, as well as Durham Cathedral. 

Apart from the historical aspect of this vacation, architectural feats, and the design, what stands out most clearly to me about these buildings is the structure. They are built to support the whole building, and it is mainly the roof which requires support, such as the buttresses holding up the York Minster. 

I was particularly struck by the red band of tiles in the  centre of the Multangular tower in York. The Romans used "saxa quadrata", each stone cut to the same size and shape, along with a band of red tiles, that held the two sides of the wall together, with a layer sandwiched in between the next platform. This is the Wall-tie, cementing the two outside walls together, and showing through on the outside. They needed to make sure the platform was level before building further. 

We need to work on one new habit of success  at a time, to cement it before we can move onto the next one. Once we have put the structure in place, we can level  it out and build higher. 

What habits are you creating? 

Purlgirl xx