Hello,
I know it might sound so trite but it is still the truth. In every moment that we are in possession of our right mind, we are able to choose between excellence and mediocrity.
First, what is excellence? I know you think you know but did you know this:
(This is part of a message I received this morning from a friend, Colette Walker where she provided the etymology of the word excellence)
“The word excellence comes from the Latin ex = out of and cellere = to rise. When we say we want to be productive, represent the kingdom of God, and live our lives with excellence we’re saying we want to rise out of mediocrity, and out of average or lower level thinking and living. Today let’s rise out of doing anything halfway or halfheartedly, and into the fullness and fulfillment of our promise.”
So to be excellent we must rise out of mediocrity – in thought, emotions and behaviors. To be mediocre is to be average, not standing out in any way.
Let’s say you decide “excellence is my choice.” Once the decision is made, what then?
Excellence doesn’t just happen after a decision to be excellent. It takes work, vigilant awareness of one’s thoughts and emotions and a healthy dose of your highest and best planning, preparing, implementing and assessing.
You have to plan on excellence – spiritually, mentally and physically plan to be excellent. Doing all that is needed to prepare for and implement excellent action plans is crucial. Then your ability to assess where you are along the way and make the adjustments required to stay on a course towards excellence is essential. It’s not a course that just happens on its own. Daily monitoring and adjusting is needed.
Remaining on a path to excellence requires making consistent choices to keep you on track. In every moment, whether you are aware of it or not, choices are being made. The thoughts you choose to have and the emotions you choose to feel all lead to the actions you eventually take.
So choose wisely.
To be on this 21-day detox challenge, you chose excellence for your life. Now each day you are no doubt thrown curve balls and opportunities to stay on the path to excellence or jump off track. The decisions you make in each moment all add up to a day’s worth of excellence or mediocrity.
Today, check out your choices. Take one hour and observe how you choose.
With the 21 challenges as your frame work, are you choosing to do them at our highest best excellent self or are you convincing yourself that you don’t really need to do them that consistently.
It’s consistency that will lead to excellent outcomes.
So choose an hour to observe and take stock of your decisions. My hope is that you choose excellence, consistently.
And when you don’t, accept that you didn’t, be accountable, forgive yourself and move on. I’ve had to do this several times since we started. It’s not how often you fall, it’s how quickly and how often you get right back up.
One final point. Why do people seem to think that because it’s holiday time, we are entitled to be anything less than excellent? It’s the holidays “so let’s eat more than usual and skip work-outs and just ‘relax’” What does that really mean?
That it’s a reward to do things that do not demonstrate excellent decision making?
That eating more than needed is something that we do to relax?
That not doing the right things is actually a good thing at special holidays?
That’s odd to me. It seems the sooner we associate doing the right things to a consistent way of living and thinking and not just something we do as “work” or when we are not relaxing and enjoying life, the sooner we will have the mindset and self-image development needed to live at a level of excellence, routinely. The sooner we link right thinking and living to the most fun we can have in life, the better.
The fact that we have less self-discipline than we should at holidays is not something to celebrate.
OK – let me climb off this soap box and let you know…been there, done that. BUT, I’m working hard to operate at a higher level; at a consistently excellent level so this holiday season, I will have the most fun I’ve ever had, continuing my work-outs, eating well and honoring the 21 challenges of this wonderful journey we are on.
I hope you’re with me.
Wishing you an abundance of Love & Light,
♥♥♥~
This message is part of the 21-Day Detox Challenge – Spirit, Mind & Body: Day 1. The program includes preparation exercises and specific planning and all previous messages can be found here. Video introduction is here.
This series began on December 8, 2010. By following the directions, you can begin this detox challenge in its entirety whenever you would like.
All program downloads can be found here (chart of challenges, self-evaluation, agreement form and handy checklist of all preparation exercises)