DAILY SLICES OF LIFE

 Striving for Excellence

 “We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”

         This sound and impressive observation was originally made by the great ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, in the 4^th century, BCE. It has withstood the test of time, and remains as accurate today, as it had been for all the past centuries. He insisted that the attainment of excellence was not a gift granted only to a few special people as a reward or a privilege, but rather it should be seen as a stage in the person’s growth and development that can only be arrived at by committed and diligent repetition of meaningful actions.

           Excellence therefore, should only be used to define the person who actually carries out an action, and not, as is the common practice, the action itself. The performance of every living person is defined strictly by the caliber of the actions he carried out in his lifetime. So that the image that others will have of him, is essentially based on a reflection of what he had been repeatedly doing, and the quality of work he actually accomplished during his lifetime. Further, contrary to a common misconception, excellence is neither inherited nor is it inborn, but is in fact, a deeply embedded personality trait, a desire to win, that can only be acquired from the constant exposure to good example, learning and experience. And, irrespective of any circumstance, it should never be based on what he claims he is capable of doing.

          When fully developed, excellence[EM1 serves as a nucleus to encourage a desire to win and to succeed, and also, to reinforce a willingness to constantly extend beyond the full limit of one’s potential. As a result, excellence cannot and will not survive unless there is a commensurate desire to move beyond the present level of ability, and an accompanying motivation to excel above and beyond current levels. Excellence therefore, is the constant striving to be the best version of oneself, without having to resort to artificial or dishonest means; and not being satisfied with anything less. John W. Gardner, a highly respected American psychologist and a senior member President Lyndon Johnson’s cabinet, described this in the following simple but very effective terms, when he observed:

 “Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”

         There is no formula laid down, nor are there any rules that will aid in the ultimate achievement of the state of excellence. In fact, the actual steps taken, and the paths followed by different people are as different as the people themselves are different. Because if this, achieving any degree of excellence is never easy to accurately measure or to predict in an individual. Most people tend to follow the conventional path of trial and error, or hit and miss, and follow leads as far as they go without giving in, until the task is completed. And others will  choose to rely more on intuition and inspiration, trusting their own vision of the outcome they desire, and then committing themselves to the task at hand. But whatever the approach adopted, excellence can only be achieved in the moment when the person himself feels and sees, both qualitatively and quantitatively, that he has arrived. This, I believe, was the intention of an Unknown Author when he recorded:

 “Excellence is never an accident: it is the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, skillful execution, and the vision to see obstacles as opportunities.”

          Excellence is not a specific mental or physical state, with clear and easily identifiable boundaries, but rather, the culminating result of the interaction of many varied dimensions as they interplayed and interweaved together, each one serving to strengthen and support the other, and then fusing into an aura of excellence that can be readily appreciated. In this respect, Steve Jobs, considered by most people to be among the greatest of the recent successful, gifted entrepreneurs, effectively placed the right attitudes for excellence in the right context when he advised:

 “Don’t let the noise of other people’s opinions drown your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and your intuition.”

 Yet despite this warning, far too many of us continue to pollute our inner voices with the external voice of others and in so doing, destroy any chance of fulfilling our deepest hopes and dreams.

         For excellence to be truly trustworthy however, it must fulfill two s  separate channels of activity; the internal (qualitative) response, and external (quantitative) activity. To be true and genuine these must always remain clean and unadulterated from any kind of influences. For although it may be possible to achieve some degree of overt quantitative results, it would be almost impossible to achieve and maintain the qualitative effort needed. So that, rather than trying to assign a number to the degree of excellence, it would be better to measure it by its impact upon the person and his resulting living. Perhaps this is what this Unknown Author meant when he noted:

 Life is not easy for anyone. Sometimes you don’t see the challenges on the inside or the outside, but every single one of us has both. Give it all, dare to be all you can be.”

          But to create the desired impact, must include a number of important subjective components without which, there can be no sense of alignment. These include:

Truth and Honesty

This represents a mainly intellectual manifestation of having remained honest and true with the intention, and the manifestation of the final action.

Quality and Beauty

This relates to the aesthetic effect of knowing that the action resulted in the creation of a meaningful effect in line with the one anticipated.

Fulfillment and Satisfaction

This falls within the moral dimension as it relates to the fact that the work was completed without attempts of dishonesty or cheating designed to impress or fool others.

          Achieving excellence can never attained by wishful thinking, nor can it be arrived at by taking short cuts or using deceitful measures. Any one of these measures may appear to be initially successful, but in the long run, like a house built on sand, will crumble in failure. Like all of life itself, excellence begins when the person recognizes the meaning and the need for excellence and deliberately initiates steps to move in the direction. It does not matter what area of life chosen; the steps needed to secure excellence remains unchanged. Beginning with the vision, and a strong desire to complete the goal to the best you can. Without this passion etched inside, the impetus needed will soon die. This demands absolute belief in oneself, a degree of self-confidence that rises above any fear of failing. There must also be a workable plan that is practical and manageable, and the intention to see it to completion. Whether the process is by trial and error, or by inspiration, the plan must be based on sound reason and not wishful thinking. Even after all of this, nothing can ever happen without there being a single-minded commitment to reach the state of excellence.

          Indeed, there can be no end to excellence, for even when it appears that the goal has been achieved, excellence will demand that there is yet more to pursue. For once the seed of this habit becomes embedded within your psyche, then little else will matter. It becomes the prevailing attitude by which all your life is measured, an obsession that never leaves, and a yardstick on everything you do. Perhaps, the Holy Bible in 2: Corinthians 8:7, explained this state, best:

 “But as you excel in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, and in all eagerness, and in the love for us that is within you, make sure you excel in this act of kindness.”

-Without any doubt, Aristotle’s views on excellence are still worthy of complete and absolute acceptance. We are all meant to live our lives in such a way that we can be judged as excellent. For it is only when we are able to truly satisfy this need, that we can honestly declare that our lives are blessed with happiness.

 

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