Mediocrity or Excellence

Posted September 11th, 2006

“The person who aims at excellence will be above mediocrity; the person who aims at mediocrity will be far short of it,” is a Burmese proverb I read in the book Accept No Mediocre Life.

What is our normal, everyday target in life and in work? I think that we may aim at excellence on special occasions, but could it be that we’re satisfied with something less than excellence most of the time.

One of my favorite singers, Emmy Lou Harris, says that “mediocrity is going to kill the world before Armageddon ever gets a chance.” The Demotivators collection from www.despair.com celebrates mediocrity with a poster that says, “It takes a lot less time and most people won’t notice the difference until it’s too late.” What do you think? Take a normal day and observe yourself and others. What’s our aim? Are we aiming high and getting closer to excellence? Are we aiming low and not even reaching mediocrity?

Excellence has some rigorous requirements. I believe excellence has much to do with our attitude, vision, purpose, effort, planning, moment to moment effort, tenacity, discipline, and practice. What else does a person require to achieve excellence and rise above mediocrity?

This entry was posted on Monday, September 11th, 2006 at 10:00 am and is filed under Operational Excellence.