Three Habits to Find Purpose and Meaning
“The only true competitor in an infinite game is yourself.”
“Do you see a man skilful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” — Prov 22:29
What did you do today to make you better than you were yesterday? Are you improving?”
“Which would you rather achieve, success or excellence?”
On the face of it, success and excellence seemed the same to me. Hearing the question from the “Blink” of The Pursuit of Excellence by Ryan grabbed my attention.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.” — Aristotle.
Take a cue from the man considered the greatest marathon runner of all time — Eliud Kipchoge.
1) Focus on and respect the process.
“To win is not important. To be successful is not even important. How to plan and prepare is crucial.” — Eliud Kipchoge.
The goal is to be disciplined enough to work daily — read the books, work out in the gym and work on yourself. Daily discipline guarantees the desired results. Focusing and respecting the process also means accepting failure as part of growth. When we set and achieve our goals, we succeed. But we consistently guarantee excellence when we adopt and follow a system or process. Be patient.
2) Turn positive behaviours into habits.
“Without commitment, you’ll never start. But more importantly, without consistency, you’ll never finish.” — Denzel Washington.
Consistent practice of desirable behaviours turns into habits. For example, it is better to focus on being a writer than to set a goal of writing a book. You might lose the incentive to write after you succeed in publishing your first book. But, if you develop a daily writing habit, you will excel as a writer. Be sensitive in identifying the desirable behaviours that will help you become your best self. And to turn those behaviours into habits, you must start small, like writing a page daily. Know what triggers the behaviour and be consistent.
3) Remove obstacles from your environment.
I could trace every feeling of unfulfillment or satisfaction down to the one habit. When I started my weight loss journey, I had to make my house helper happy. I gave her everything sugary and starchy from my fridge and kitchen cabinet. To start my writing journey, I cancelled my cable TV subscription to make time for writing daily.
What is around you that is stopping you from turning positive behaviours into habits? Your environment fuels your habits.
We are not in competition with anything or anyone. To excel, we must focus on growth and doing what feels rewarding and fulfilling. Therefore, excellence is personal, intrinsic and internal. And because growth is continuous, to excel means to play the infinite game. To achieve this, you must accept and focus on what you can control, believe you can improve and learn new skills and be in the right environment with the right people.
If you can affirm daily that you are better than you were yesterday, then you are on your way to excellence, growth in your career and a fulfilled life. Excellence is a process of self-discovery and personal growth. Simon Sinek is right when he said that the only true competitor in an infinite game is yourself.
Two (2) Book recommendations
These books show how habits, mindset and external factors can drive excellence in our career, business or passion pursuit.
a) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. by Carol S. Dweck
Carol S Dweck introduces the concept of fixed and growth mindsets. She shares her thoughts and ideas, making a case that a growth mindset is a prerequisite for achieving excellence.
b) Outliers: The Story of Success. by Malcolm Gladwell
Talent, hard work or external circumstances? While most of us believe in success and excellence through hard work, Gladwell argues that our family, background and circumstances play a critical role in how we turn out. Read through Gladwell’s analyses of successful individuals to see how you can harness all through in our pursuit of excellence.
Three (3) Citations
Habits, commitments and consistency.
“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavour.” — Vince Lombardi.
“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather, we have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” — Aristotle.
“Strive for continuous improvement, instead of perfection.” — Kim Collins
