Hello My Friend,
In every moment that we are in possession of our right mind, we are able to choose between excellence and mediocrity. I know it might sound so trite but it is still the truth.
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 is made 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.
PLAN — 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.
ASSESS & ADJUST — 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.
CONSISTENTLY CHOOSE — 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.
I suspect, just your choice to read this article is an indication that 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 a day’s worth of mediocrity.
Today, check out your choices. Take one hour and observe how you choose.
Are you choosing to be at our highest and best excellent self or, are you convincing yourself that you don’t really need to be excellent, consistently. Perhaps you feel you have a right to be excellent when you choose to be… (and you certainly do have that right, but will it lead to excellence in living?)
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. 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 the weekend, special occasion or 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 keep you healthy and at your best?
That it’s a good thing to “relax” and that means foregoing 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 (lifestyle and mindset) 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. I hope you’re with me.
Wishing you an abundance of Love & Light,
∞♥∞