Excellence

Excellence...

Sometimes when you're just trying to keep your head above water it's hard to think about striving for excellence.

But for the most part, excepting certain life events that excuses us from reality for a few hours, days, or months, we should try to meet the highest standard we can, especially as children of God who are encouraged in His Word to do all that we do as if we're doing it for Him.

It's easy to coast along, and do the bare minimum to accomplish what you must. I've done this in every area of my life at one time or another (and occasionally in all areas at once): do what you have to just to keep the kids alive, fed, clothed, and reasonably clean; do what you have to just to make it to work, put in your 8 hours, and go home; do what you have to just to keep your marriage intact.

After a while, though, it gets old because the results aren't what you really want out of life. You know things could be better if you just reached a little higher. It's not that you have to try to be perfect -- that's not possible even if you tried.

But excellence is possible. It requires more effort, more concentration, less multi-tasking, and less selfish indulgences, and, I might add, a good nights sleep. After all, who can be excellent when they're exhausted?!

My goal is to get to the end of my life and not have to ask how things would have been different if I had given it my all. And one way to give it my all is to strive to be excellent in every area that's important to me. This may mean I need to pare down my life so that I trim away what's not important so I can concentrate on what is.

What's most important to you in life? And how can you strive toward excellence in those areas?