Cultivating Habits of Excellence
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Striving for Excellence is a Worthwhile Endeavor
When you read the phrase “habits of excellence” what comes to mind? For much of my life, I gave little thought to excellence. Instead, my goal was perfection, even though I didn’t use that word. I just wanted to get things “right” once in awhile. In that pursuit, the term “right” was code for “perfect” and happened very rarely.
In my mind, I believed that everyone around me was better suited to achieve goals in every area of their lives, while I was inferior and not likely to amount to much. Because I kept telling myself this with my self-talk and actions, it became my reality.
Can you imagine living each day with this mindset? For too many years and for reasons too varied to go into here, I’ll share that my confidence and self-esteem were at all-time lows. My opinion of myself was based on my mistaken belief that I was not smart enough, capable enough, and not “enough” in even the most simple ways. I thought that almost anyone else in the world was more likely to achieve their goals, and more deserving as well.
So, how did think thinking serve me? Not very well, as you can already imagine. My life was one of repetition more than habit. Sometimes, when something special happened in my life I was happy and excited. Soon, those feelings were overshadowed by ones of acceptance that the event had happened by accident and was most likely meant for someone else. I did not understand what it meant to cultivate habits of excellence. I only knew that I was destined for a life of lack and struggle and mediocrity and that’s just how it was going to be.
Also, during these decades I did not take responsibility for what occurred in my daily life experience. I played the victim. It was always someone else’s actions that cause me to feel bad, or to not have what I wanted. If only people would give me a chance, I could get ahead, or so I believed.
In 2005 I had an awakening, literally. I woke up one morning in April of 2005, aware that something was different with my sensory perceptions. Colors were more vivid, sounds more crisp and clear, and the feeling was one I had not experienced before. I came to the sudden, yet powerful realization that change was in the air and that I…
