"Excellence is not an act but a habit" --- Aristotle
While it's impossible to say where the drive for excellence originated, we do know that both individual development and social progress are products of this drive. That makes excellence one of the most important traits to possess.
We achieve excellence when we strive to do the best we can. The people who are most successful are those who keep up the effort to excel in every activity and at every point in their lives.
RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE
In some activities -- particularly sports-- excellence can be defined absolutely.
Example: Runners define excellence in terms of how quickly they cover their chosen distance. A runner can easily evaluate his/her own performance, compare his present standard with past achievements and set new goals. Outside observers can also recognize excellence and compare different runners.
There can also be varying -- but still valid -- standards of excellence for different people who are engaging in the same activity.
Example: A top-rated female sprinter might demonstrate more excellence in her running technique that aphysically stronger male, even though she is not as fast as he is.
In other areas of life, excellence may be defined less objectively but can still be generally recognized. People who engage in a particular activity generally agree about what standards are expected.
Example: Knowledgeable music lovers know what standards they expect from a top symphony orchestra or opera singer. They are aware of the minute differences in performances and react immediately to the slightest failure to meet those standards.
If you involve yourself in some new field of endeavor, you will soon realize whether you are any good at it. As you learn more about it, you will develop the ability to judge when excellence has been achieved by others and by yourself, and learn where you have to improve.
Exceptions: Various types of non-traditional creative and artistic activities whose participants reject any standards on principle. If people are free to do anything they want in any way, it is impossible to define excellence.
HOW TO DEVELOP EXCELLENCE
The key to developing excellence is active participation. When you want to excel at an activity, you can never rest on your laurels. Regardless of your natural talent, you must always work to improve. Here are three basic ways to improve...
- PRACTICE:The more you do anything, the better you get at it.
- THINK about what you are doing and what you would like to do. Practice in and of itself will only help you do the same thing better. To truly excel and widen your ability, you need to learn new things to do and better ways to use your talent. Thinking will help you gain the maximum advantage from your practice and develop new ways to improve.
- LEARN FROM OTHER PEOPLE... especially role models who are experts in your chosen field... from coaches, teachers -- and books. This will give you insights and ideas that will inspire you to match or even surpass what others have already done. In more general terms, the more that you learn about the world around you -- by seriously studying what has been already said by great thnkers of the past -- the more excellence you will be able to develop in your entire life.
EXCELLENCE IS INFECTIOUS
It does not really matter where or when you
start your search for excellence. If you have once tasted excellence in
any part of your life, the search for excellence then becomes part of you
and you begin to excel in other areas.
LEVELS OF EXCELLENCE
Nobody can be equally good at everything. If
you want to engage in some activity you enjoy but realize that you can
never be a top-level performer, you can still strive for excellence at
a different level.
BOTTOM LINE
Almost everyone is capable of achieving excellence
in some aspect of his life. Excellence cannot be achieved overnight, and
it requires persistence and hard work... but it pays off in a richer and
more rewarding life.
Suggestions or your own contributions welcome !
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