You Are What You Do

You are what you do

One of my favorite scenes in Total Recall with Arnold Schwarzenegger was with Kuato, the weird creature growing out of some guy’s abdomen. Kuato said to Arnold’s character, “You are what you do. A man is defined by his actions, not his memory.” I was only 21, and I thought that the writer of the movie first wrote that line. Now, I know that many philosophers and writers said it. Aristotle said that you are what you repeatedly do. But that is not what Kuato meant. He meant that what you do now is what defines you.

Carl Jung said, “You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” That is my favorite non-movie interpretation of the sentiment. Ryan Holiday, the modern-day philosopher who changed my life, says it many times in many ways, and I learn something every time I read it. But I still prefer what Kuato said.

You are what you do.  You make errors and recover by acting today. Starting now, you can be a good person. You can stuff your face on Thanksgiving and eat healthy the next day. In medical school, when someone said they had quit drinking, we asked when. If they said, “Today,” we scoffed, thinking they were joking. We thought it was funny or that they didn’t mean it. Yet, that is all it takes. Do it today. Start now. Be a good person now.

You are what you do also means that promises don’t mean anything unless they are kept. You can say you care about something, but if you don’t make the effort or pay the price for it, then you don’t care enough. I can say I care about my son, but if I don’t make an effort to be with him and support him, then I don’t care enough. Patients say they care more about their health than anything else, but they don’t quit smoking, drinking, or eating junk food. They won’t pay for a medication or procedure that can help them, but they go on an expensive vacation.

You are what you do. If you visit friends and treat them well, you are a good friend. If you don’t, then you aren’t a good friend. If you exercise, eat well, and avoid alcohol and smoking, then you are a person who cares about your health. Saying you care about your health is nothing. Do something about it. I have been an unhealthy person. For years, I didn’t exercise, and I ate fast food several days a week. That is what I did, not what I do. Now, I eat healthy, I exercise, and I avoid drinking and smoking. I am a healthy person. 

You may not be able to entirely recover from your past unhealthy habits. But you can be healthy now. You may not be forgiven for everything you have done wrong, but you can be a good person now. Ryan Holiday quotes Marcus Aurelius. “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” 

Words are nothing. You are what you do.