One of the things that breaks my heart is when people don't pursue excellence. We're satisfied with a C grade, mediocre spirituality, average performances and the list can go on and on and on. Now, let me first explain a few things, the goal for all people should be their very best. A big mistake we can make as parents, leaders, and even adults is to treat all people equally. Now, I will say we need to treat all people with same amount of love and respect, but different standards and requirements should be made for different people. My parents pushed me and encouraged me to get all A's in school growing-up, looking back I can say that I didn't get all A's and I am somewhat regretful that I didn't live up to my full potential in school. Did things turn out okay for me? I will say that they did, but I do look back and wonder, "What if I pursued excellence in all I did growing up?"
1) Why is this important?
Habits are the bedrock of our character. Human beings are intricate wounds beings filled with both vices and virtues that make them unique and wonderful. The part that makes this so important is that while habits are extremely important, they take time to build and are difficult to break. One example that comes to my mind is world renowned violinist Joshua Bell. Joshua's violin music has been an inspiration for millions of people all over the world, but he did not become a violin sensation over night. Joshua spent hours practicing, rehearsing, learning music, technique, and through many hours of hard work and dedication Joshua became a violin sensation!
His success came through many hard hours of work, patience, humility, and dedication. Those habits and technique for success came at a great cost and through much time and patience. In a current time when so many people in our country and in our western culture are under performing and not reaching their full potential in many areas of life are society needs people who work hard, endure failure, and pursue excellence because if excellence is pursued and becomes a habit than the hope is it will transfer into our spiritual journey and into all of our relationships. Habits of excellence and the desire to pursue excellence will affect all areas of life, let's vow as a church to become people who strive to be the very best they can be.
2) Failing is an event not an identity.
This is a tough pill for a lot of people to swallow, and I lump myself into this category as well. Putting pressure on ourselves to make more money, lose more weight, have a better status at your job, associate with higher class people, drive a nicer car, and the list can on and on and on. But, the reality is that most of us will endure failure at some point in our lifetime. We will miss deadlines, expectations, bounce checks, and even at times fall flat on our face.
But, the truth is that when we live life we will hit bumps in the road, fall flat on our face, and fail. What we need to understand is that no matter how bad the failure it does not define us and will not own us, unless we let it. Failure it can be bad, and at times it can be even devastating, but it is something that we can overcome. A few things to consider when overcoming failure and preventing it in the future are:
1) Surround yourself with good people. For a plant to grow green and strong, it needs strong roots, the proper care, and it needs to be in a place that has lots of light. Human beings are the same way, we can encouraged, strengthened, and pushed in all the right directions when we surround ourselves with the right people. However, being around young people in a variety of settings for several years now, I've seen first hand how destructive poor friend choices can be. A lot of good kids and adults often have had great intentions in befriending or even engaging in missionary dating to try and bring up those who so desperately need to hear about the good news of Jesus and have their lives changed.
Now, I'm not saying that good influences can never change hearts, what I am saying is be extremely careful, it is much easier to be pulled down then to pull someone up. If you're having doubts about this idea, my advice would be to try it sometime, take a folding chair, one that is fairly strong and that can support your weight and stand up up on the chair. Now, have a friend or sibling stand near the chair and conduct two experiments first have them try and pull you down. It should happen quite easily, next stand by them and try and pull them up on the chair, my guess is it probably will be extremely difficult. The same is true of the people we surround ourselves with: be careful.
2) Listen to wise advice. One of the things I think a lot of us will regret is we didn't fully comprehend how smart our parents, coaches, professors, and bosses truly are. Older men and women who have walked in our place, experienced the stage of life we are currently in, and have made similar mistakes that we have or will make can offer some valuable insight and guidance on how to pursue excellence and reach your full potential.
Listen to advice. Ask questions. Learn from mistakes, and above all do your best to minimize distractions. One of the biggest things problems in this generation is not their lack of education or opportunity but rather we are distracted and pulled away from what really matters to pursue what really doesn't matter. I will say this that your personal goals for your life cannot all be work related, although it is good and healthy to set some quality work related goals for yourself. Ask people to help you discern and understand what you're passionate about, where your gifts lie, and how you can pursue excellence and reach your full potential in life.
3) Set reasonable goals. One of the biggest mistakes people have made is to set goals which aren't attainable. Change and growth take time and patience, so don't beat yourself up if you aren't able to accomplish the transformation immediately. Be understanding and knowledgeable that bad habits are hard to break and you will fall into temptation even after you've started to change your life. My best advice is to find someone that would hold you accountable, pray for you, and challenge you to set reasonable goals so that you can be all that God created and intended you to be. In closing habits that challenge you to pursue excellence will carry over in all areas of life and impact you in great ways. Pursue excellence, learn from mistakes, don't settle for good enough, reach for your full potential, learn to laugh at yourself along the way, and above all get up every time you fall.
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