The pursuit of excellence

The pursuit of excellence:

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The pursuit of excellence.

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It isn’t for everyone.

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Actually, it’s for very few.

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Very few people on this planet are truly excellent.

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Excellent at one thing they do.

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And even the ones that are, how many are excellent in every aspect of their life?

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I’d say almost none.

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It’s impossible.

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Excellence in everything is impossible.

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I remember reading something in university about how all the Nobel Prize winners, who were excellent in their field, had dirty offices and terrible home lives.

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Excellence in one field doesn’t mean excellence in every field.

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It is very hard to be excellent.

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Not just in one thing.

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But in many things.

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Here’s the secret.

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You don’t have to be excellent in everything.

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You just have to try.

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You have to show up.

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You have to fail.

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Then you have to come back and do it again.

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And again.

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And again.

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It’s very easy to do it in one field.

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Commit your life to years of study.

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Years of proving yourself.

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Reading textbooks.

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Answering questions.

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Writing exams.

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Showing up every day in a hospital treating patients.

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That can become your life.

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It was mine for a period of time.

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Was I good at it?

Not the best.

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But I wasn’t the worst.

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I kept showing up.

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Kept trying.

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Passed.

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Became a doctor.

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And then left it all.

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Moved fields.

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Tried something else.

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When I started, I had no idea what I was doing.

By the end of my time in that career, was I excellent?

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Maybe not.

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But I was damn good at it.

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Same thing with writing.

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Starting to write on a whim.

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Then kept showing up.

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And now even when I write this, I sometimes can’t believe how far I’ve come.

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Am I an excellent writer?

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I don’t think so.

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I could be better.

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But I’m not bad.

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I’ve also shown up.

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I’ve been writing consistently for years.

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That’s excellence.

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And that’s what it takes to be excellent.

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Years.

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Years of practice.

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Years of failure.

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Years of showing up.

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Most people do it in one aspect of their lives.

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But can you do it in more?

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I think so.

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But you have to decide.

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You have to decide it’s important to you.

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Can you be excellent at more than your job?

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Can you have excellent relationships?

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Can you be an excellent parent?

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Can you be an excellent friend?

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Can you be excellent at a skill?

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Yes.

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Of course you can.

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But only if you’re willing to struggle.

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Only if you’re willing to suffer.

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Only if you’re willing to do things most people won’t do.

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If you want to live an excellent life, you have to do excellent things.

To do excellent things, you need to chase excellence.

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To chase excellence, you need to never stop pursuing it.

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Pursue excellence.

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