THE PAIN OF EXCELLENCE

The sweet taste of winning

BY Archana Law

In today’s fast-paced world, consumers and organisational leaders are focussed on excellence. Consumers demand exceptional quality in their products and services, and businesses demand exceptional performance from their employees.

Excellence isn’t simply about being good at something; it’s about being the best, pushing the boun­daries of what’s possible and achieving mastery. It is that unquenchable thirst for improvement, the ceaseless desire to raise the bar and an aspiration to achieve greatness in our chosen fields, whatever they may be.

We all want to live great lives but are often unwilling to do what’s necessary to get there. That’s like an athlete who wants to be the world champion but isn’t willing to train. What we fail to understand is that the path to excellence is paved with challenging pain, sacrifice, emotional rollercoasters and relentless dedication.

So why pursue excellence?

The answer lies in the reward.

Achieving excellence often brings recognition, financial success, personal growth, and a sense of accomplishment and fulfilment. Think of the Olympic gold medallist standing on the podium, the artiste receiving accolades, the entrepreneur whose innovation transforms industries.

The sweet taste of victory makes the pain worthwhile.

Confronting the pain that achieving excellence entails includes extraordinary demands on your time – such as early mornings, late nights, missed social events and precious moments sacrificed for improvement. To hone their craft, individuals may need to distance themselves from the comforts of social life, and often feel lonely and isolated.

One also has to deal with failure, rejection, self-doubt and burnout. Each setback stings and the pain of not meeting one’s own high standards can be excruciating. It’s a fine line between pushing oneself and pushing too hard.

And the constant pressure can take a toll on one’s physical and mental wellbeing.

So if excellence exacts a toll like what athletes endure during gruelling training regimens, when artistes perfect their craft for hours and entrepreneurs face sleepless nights in pursuit of their vision, how do individuals find ways to navigate the challenges?

Success leaves behind clues; and every story possesses subtle insights that can teach us, guide us and benefit our lives in unimagina­ble ways!

START EARLY Author, speaker and leading expert on personal mastery Robin Sharma presents the 5AM Club, which is a powerful argument for a work-rest routine to join the top five percent of performers.

Emphasising that a structured and consistent morning routine can act as a catalyst for greater productivity, health and happiness, Sharma’s 20/20/20 Formula recommends splitting an hour into three 20 minute slots – first through movement (intense exercise), then reflection and solitude, and concluding with growth and education.

RESPONSIBILITY Author and businessman Dr. Stephen Covey famously said that all results in life begin with taking complete responsibility. According to him, proactive people recognise that they are ‘response-able.’ They don’t blame circumstances, conditions or conditioning for their actions but choose their behaviour wisely.

Reactive people on the other hand, are often affected by their physical environment and find external sources to blame for their conduct. The key to staying in control is to create a deliberate gap between stimulus and response.

POSSIBILITY The originator of the series Chicken Soup for the Soul Jack Canfield taught millions that the number one priority to get what they want is self-belief.

Quoting self-help author Napoleon Hill, he says: “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” Canfield adds that our powerful minds have the capacity to deliver everything we want, provided we believe that it’s possible.

SMALL STEPS Popular practitioner of integrative medicine Dr. Deepak Chopra declares that everything that happens in the mind and brain is physically represented elsewhere in the body, through thoughts, feelings, perceptions and memories. By influencing one, we influence everything.

His teachings focus on directly influencing physiology through awareness, positive social interactions, harmonious relationships and physical fitness, wherein slight and seemingly insignificant changes in behaviour, attitudes and priorities will add up.

DON’T QUIT There will always be rough patches and results that are discouraging. But remember that what separates the successful from the unsuccessful is perseverance.

A study by the University of Pennsylvania found that developing mental toughness is essential to success. Like an athlete persevering through pain and exhaustion to win a gold medal, we need to stay focussed on the goal through the best and worst of times.