Excellence: A Habit, Not An Act
A lot of times, people attribute excellence to mean a one time extraordinary event, or a mind-blowing feat. Well, what they do not understand is that excellence is not an isolated event, but a continuous and consistent habit that one has formed to be better than they were. This is why I believe that excellent is not an act that one does once-in-a-while, rather it is a habit. Just to let you know, you will become what you repeatedly and continuously do. This also means that excellence is built through constant daily routines, daily decisions, small choices, and a determination to improve yourself and be better in the present than you were in the past.
It is worthy to note that excellence has its root in the mind. That is, it begins from your mindset. It is not about feeling like you are in a competition with anyone, neither does it mean trying to be perfect or to be the best, rather it is about ensuring you become a better and an upgraded version of yourself. If you have beaten someone at a task but you have not beaten your best record, then you have not really made progress. The idea is not to beat others but to beat your best version and become better than you were. A friend once made a statement some weeks back which still resounds in my mind. He said "the ultimate idea is not to be the best among others, but to do your best to be better than you were."
When you have the mindset that excellence begins from the mind, you will condition your mind to begin to think it, which will also make you to act it out. For example, in your career, your business, your studies, even in your personal growth, you can cultivate a disciplined mentality to be consistent in what you do and to keep doing the right thing even when it is least convenient and when no one is looking. As a student for example, you can make it a point of duty to read a minimum of 1 hour each day and 30mins each night before you sleep. When this becomes your daily routine, it will set you on the path of academic success. When exam time comes, you will discover that you will excel well in it, because you have built yourself over time. Of course, a student that studies 1hr30mins daily will outperform a student who just crams 10mins before exam.
Excellence is not what you just jump into, or what drops on you from the sky, it is what you build with continuity and consistency through your actions, decisions, choices, discipline, dedication, and sacrifices. It may not be easy and it may not be convenient, but that is the nature of sacrifice. To get what you are looking for, then you have to be willing to sacrifice what you have. Here, you may be sacrificing your time, your comfort, and maybe your resources too. All these may be the price that you have to pay to excel continually in what you do. Just like a student who spends their time to read, sacrifices their comfort to wake up at night to study, and spends their resources to buy academic materials; when they excel in their exams, it will not be a surprise because they have paid the price.
The role of small actions to affect your life on a larger scale is without question. More often than not, it may not be the biggest of the gestures that bring excellence but the small and repeated actions matter a great deal. For example, a football star like Ronaldo and Messi did not become exceptional by playing just one match. Rather, they spend hours on practice, playing on and off the pitch, learning from their mistakes, and improving on themselves. If you watched their match at the start of their career and then compare it to their prime, you will notice that they actually improved. These improvements did not happen overnight but it took time.
In order to build excellence over time, there are things that you need to observe. Firstly, you need to set high standards for yourself. Always be better than you were yesterday. Then try to practise discipline. You also need to focus on little improvements, and remain consistent.
Thanks for reading
