7 Reasons Why the Pursuit of Excellence is Better than Settling for Mediocrity

I’m learning (though I’m never quite learning it fast enough) that the pursuit of excellence in everything I do is infinitely better than settling for mediocrity.

It should seem obvious that the pursuit of excellence in everything you do would be the surest road to maximizing your potential, yet so few of us strive to do just that.

Why is that?

Rather than settle for average, why don’t we give it our all, try our very best, and never give up til the job is done? Why don’t we keep pushing for greater? Why is it so difficult to go the extra mile or put in the extra effort or even to make that extra telephone call to a prospective customer, when doing so is the obvious difference between being merely average versus that of being head-and-shoulders above the competition?

Success is Gained in the Pursuit of Excellence

There’s one thing I know for sure about the pursuit of excellence, and it is this:

You will never be disappointed in your pursuit of excellence, for there are no traffic jams along the extra mile.”

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Here are seven reasons why the pursuit of excellence will always, always, always be the better option when compared to settling for mediocrity.

1. Nothing of any real significance happens to people who linger in the status quo. (Quick…name an amazing event in human history that occurred without anyone trying to actually “do” something. No, I couldn’t think of anything either.)
2. You were created in the image of God. Therefore, you have the ability to do excellent things over and over and over again. —>[Tweet this point]
3. The world is already filled with mediocrity, so don’t settle for adding more white noise. (Providing valuable content, amazing products, and doing more than was expected will set you apart from your competition.)
4. You grow and develop as a person when you set out to do more than is merely expected or required. (People who pursue excellence in their niche become leaders in their niche, without question. People will notice the effort. It gets rewarded in either dollars or attention, and sometimes in both.)
5. People will begin to follow you on social media and perceive you as an expert. (Because there is so much “average” out there in the world, we can’t help but notice your pursuit of excellence. You stand out when you travel along the extra mile.)
6. Pursuing excellence shows that you aren’t a victim of procrastination. (People who procrastinate provide nothing of value in the midst of their procrastination. It is only when we create and ship that we offer value to the world. You can’t pursue excellence at the same time you’re procrastinating. It’s simply not possible.)
7. People who tend to pursue excellence have less stress in their lives. (Let’s face it. When we put off for tomorrow what we should be doing today, we tend to stress about it until the project gets finished. For example, I’ve had a 3-5 hour project hanging over my head for a few months now. I’m finally going to tackle and complete it tomorrow, but I’ve stressed about it for weeks now. I can’t wait until it is behind me so that I never, ever have to think about it again. And what bothers me most about it is that I didn’t tackle it sooner. Ugh.)

Pursuing excellence rather than settling for mediocrity is what you’re called to do in life. It is your calling in your work, your career, your ministry, your marriage, and your life in general. You were created to produce excellence.

So press on, don’t ever stop giving it your best, and don’t let the jealous voices around you (or even the small voice inside your head) ever convince you that you aren’t made for the MASS PRODUCTION of greatness.

QUESTION: What other reasons do you see as benefits for the pursuit of excellence, rather than settling for mediocrity? (Respond by leaving a comment below.)

Photo Credit: Marco Crupi Visual Artist via Compfight cc