Building The Habit Of Excellence

Excellence is not a single event that just happens out of the blues, rather it is a habit that is formed over time. A lot of people celebrate outstanding performance, great projects, and other remarkable achievements. Yet some of them do not really understand what produced the results. What they fail to understand is that what they see did not just come from a "one day effort." They are results of habits that have been formed over time. That is, results of consistent and disciplined actions that have but put in place over time. This is the same way when you see a house standing, it did not just appear from nowhere, rather it was a result of actions of builders over time. The achievements you desire will respond to your actions over time, not overnight.

I have seen world class footballers perform excellently well even beyond expectations, that some say that it is talent. While I agree, but there are more to it than just talent. I once heard the world renowned footballer, Ronaldo, in one of his interviews where he talked about his training routines, and I understood the secret behind his success. He explained that he does not only train because he has a match, but he trains daily. Even when he goes to the pitch for a general training, he would arrive before the others, so that he can have his personal training before the others start coming. He would also continue even after others have left. It became a habit for him, and this was part of what led him into achieving success in his endeavour. Excellence was not gifted him, rather he earned it through his actions which formed a habit for him.

If you want to achieve a lasting success, then you have to build a habit towards it. A single event can just bring attention, but it is a habit that builds character. Anyone can perform well once, especially when they are motivated by rewards, pressure, or by public applause. But one thing with excellence is that it will still show up even when no one is watching. It is the act of building yourself to the point that you give your best, and maintain high standards everyday, and not just once in a while. A friend, who is also a motivational speaker, once said that "excellence is not a one-time event, it is not occasional, rather it is consistent and intentional. Anyone you see today as being "too good" made a choice to build themselves through repeated actions.

It is worthy to note that your habits actually shape you more than motivation does to you. Motivation can come and go in a swift swing. There may even be days that you may not feel like doing anything, or you may not even be inspired to act. But your habit will continue without a recourse to your feelings. When you see someone with an excellently built body and 6 packs over their abs, you will understand that it was not built in a day. It came as a result of months or years of repeated bodybuilding. There are times that he may not feel like working out, but he still had to do it as part of his routines. His habit will be what will sustain him even when inspiration and motivation may not be present.

More often than not, your habit determine how your life will turn out to be. A student who has made it a habit to study at least 1hour everyday will position themself on the pathway of success. When you build a habit of punctuality for example, you will always arrive on time even when you do not feel like it. Habits are not formed overnight, they are actually formed over time through constant and consistent daily actions. Just to let you know, excellence is not gifted, it is not what you are born with, it will come as a result of the choices you have made over a period of time. The small daily positive actions you take may look insignificant, but over time, they will become part of the building blocks of your life and your destiny.

You have to understand that excellence also demands attention to details. Average people will just settle for "good enough." While the people who have developed the mindset of excellence will go a little further. They will review their task twice, they take note of small errors and correct them. They ask for feedbacks so as to enable them make improvements. These efforts may not appear much at the moment, but when they are compounded over the time, they will make a whole lot of difference. Just to let you know; excellence basically lives in the details.

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