Aristotle: The Art of Flourishing in a World of Extremes
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Will Durant, summarising Aristotle in The Story of Philosophy (1926)
Aristotle’s name turns up in every “greatest thinkers” list, usually surrounded by marble busts (like the one above) and ancient manuscripts. Which is fine — but it also means a lot of people switch off before they’ve even got to the interesting part.
But don’t for a moment think that Aristotle wasn’t just an abstract thinker sitting around in a toga. Or as the Monty Python sketch said ‘Aristotle, Aristotle, was a bugger for the bottle’. I still can’t get that out of my head whenever I hear his name mentioned!
He was more like a cross between a scientist, a life coach, and your sharpest friend — the one who sees what’s really going on and says it out loud. He wanted to know what makes a good life, not in theory, but in practice. And over two thousand years later, his answers are still uncomfortably relevant.
The Golden Mean
One of his sharpest ideas is the Golden Mean. The short version? Virtue lives somewhere between two extremes.
Courage? Push it too far and it’s recklessness. Pull it back too much and it’s cowardice. The sweet spot is right in the middle. Same with generosity — somewhere between spending like there’s no tomorrow and hoarding every penny like Gollum with his precious.
It sounds obvious until you notice how much of life nudges us towards the edges, especially today where there is so much polarization. Politics, social media, even friendships — it’s all too easy to go all-in on one side. Aristotle’s point is that balance isn’t boring. It’s brave. It’s often harder to hold the middle ground than to pick a side and dig in.
Try this: Next time you’re making a decision or taking a position, ask yourself: Am I drifting towards an extreme? Where’s the sweet spot here?
Eudaimonia: More Than Just “Happiness”
Aristotle had a word for the highest human good: Eudaimonia (you-dye-MOH-nee-uh). It’s often translated as “happiness,” but that undersells it.
Happiness in our culture tends to mean feeling good right now — a great meal, a sunny day, a Netflix binge. Aristotle meant something much deeper: flourishing. Living a life that’s worth living. Not perfect, not pain-free, but rich with purpose, growth, and self-respect.
And here’s the uncomfortable bit, flourishing takes time. It takes effort. It often means saying “no” to something tempting now for the sake of something better later. This is often called the Marshmallow Test — the famous delayed gratification experiment by Walter Mischel in the 1960s and ’70s.
In it, children were given one marshmallow and told they could eat it now, or wait 15 minutes and get two. The study became a classic example of how the ability to delay gratification can be linked to self-control, future success, and — in philosophical terms — ideas like eudaimonia, where long-term flourishing outweighs short-term pleasure.
So: Where are you chasing quick wins that won’t matter in a year? How could you swap them for something that builds long-term fulfilment?
Practical Wisdom
Aristotle also cared about something he called Phronesis (froh-NEE-sis)— practical wisdom. Not just knowing the facts, but knowing what to do with them in the mess of real life.
Think of it as the difference between knowing the Highway Code and actually being a good driver in rush-hour traffic. Information isn’t enough — you need judgement, timing, and a sense of proportion.
Practical wisdom is what we hope for in leaders, mentors, and friends. And unfortunately today, it’s in very short supply.
The Political Animal
One of Aristotle’s most famous lines is that “man is by nature a political animal.”(Politics, Book I)
By “political” he didn’t mean party politics — he meant that we’re social creatures. We’re built for connection. Your wellbeing, he’d say, is tied to the health of your community. And in a time where loneliness is on the rise and “community” is often just a group chat you don’t check, that’s worth remembering.
Why He Still Matters
Strip away the marble and mythology, and Aristotle’s message is blunt:
Find balance instead of chasing extremes.
Aim for a life rich in purpose, not just comfort.
Value wisdom over raw knowledge.
Build communities where people can thrive.
You don’t need to read Nicomachean Ethics cover to cover to put this into practice. You just need to start asking better questions about the way you live and the choices you make.
A 7-Day Aristotle Experiment
Pick one of these and try it for a week:
Golden Mean: Spot one place a day where you can step away from an extreme.
Eudaimonia: Do one thing daily that serves your long-term growth.
Practical Wisdom: Pause before a decision and ask, “What’s the wisest choice here?”
Political Animal: Make one small connection — call a friend, check in on a neighbour, join a group.
At the end of the week, notice what’s shifted. Aristotle wouldn’t expect perfection. But he would expect you to try. And that, in itself, is the beginning of a good life.