Running and Finishing the Excellence Mile! - Part 1 of 2

Written by: Daniel Richard

Image courtesy of Philo

This is the first part of two in the series of The Excellent Mile! Do continue reading this post and subscribe to receive the latest.

Let’s talk about the things we do during our daily (mundane maybe) life, and work.

There are certain stuffs that we have to do over and over again, but one thing we know and can bring us into the joy that we in our human nature have sought out for wherever we are and whatever we do is to be in the realm of excellence!

That’s a word we use frequently in our social life and in our work. However I was wondering, how many out there are actually running in this race which I call it “The Excellence Mile”?

The Excellence Mile

There’s a traditional thought that goes saying something like “going the extra mile”.

Here’s a counter thought to that notion: why go only an extra mile that can be subjected to many various outcomes that may be negative? Some examples would be that the additional mile you go might cause more problems even if it was done with good intentions, or that one additional step you go could be the one that brings the downfall of a team’s hard work that everyone had given their best input from long hours and years of contributions.

Let’s be more specific and decisive this round. No more wishy washy answer or “motivation” using that phrase that is already a cliché now.

It’s time for us to go the excellence mile!

Set your foot on the right lane at the start

Ever ran a race before in your life?

I recalled running a few races when I was around 13 to 14 years old in the 200 meters dash, and 400 by 4 baton relays. I used to come in second for all the races I can remember participating in.

On the track, there are 6 distinct lanes which all the participating runners will competing on. Each runner will be allocated one individual lane to run in.

Now let’s picture the 6 distinct things a runner have to face in a race, with each point represented by a lane.

Lane #1: Discouragement
You step onto the track and took a look at the other competitors around you. On the first lane is someone who you recognize seeing once in a while, always offering you words that seems to pull you down just to make himself look better. That is discouragement, that unbelievable Schadenfreude towards everyone else, and that includes you.

Lane #2: Self-Confidence
This guy on the second lane looked as though he is already the champion for this race. He is better looking, has perfect jawbones, with hair spiked up that makes his towering posture dwarfs you in size even more, and he is the type of person who you like to hang out with (or maybe not cos’ of a little jealousy on your part).

Lane #3: Limitations
Here’s the third guy looking at you with his dorky specs and not only he is the extension of the word dull in flesh, the words he say only affirms the “fact” that the guy on the second lane is going to win only because he had recently set the best record in the annual racing event and that that’s the limit that no one else would be able to reach at all.

Lane #4: External-Factors
The forth guy is looking even worse off than you last saw him a day ago. He looked more worried than ever. He had been working on a handful of projects in the recent weeks, seemed like he have had his hands on 3 new things ever fortnight - none of them which were ever completed at all. One good thing is that he did not blame everything else around him. Though it was certain that being overly influenced by the things he knew were not going to succeed caused him his failures for all his work done.

Lane #5: Decision
Dude on the fifth lane, right beside you, looked as though he was disinterested and looked like a possible threat to you. He saw you looking at him and told you that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to run this race, and that his friends pushed him to join this race and he only barely made it to this finals. You see substance in him, only that his eyes doesn’t glow with passion or focus. He has the abilities to win everyone else, but looked as though he was going to give up the race as the sharper looking guy on lane 2 is in the same competition as him.

Lane #6: Yourself
You stop looking elsewhere and you realized that you are in this finals along with the rest of the pack here. The feet that you are hopping on, and warming up to is yours. No one else is going to touch the lane that you are in.

Here you are, knowing that when the trigger is released, you will be running at the top of your speed, combining all your strengths, stamina, determination, and persistence in getting to the finishing line.

You are definitely not going to waste any precious nanoseconds looking around while you are striving to get into your personal highest speed!

Then a thought struck.

This is your lane. You are running in it not only to see how far the rest can make it. You are in it to compete and overcome yourself! The same elements that the remaining 5 have can be found in you once in your lifetime, and today you are up against them, but your attention is brought back to your lane when every burst of speed, every stride, every push you make, is to get you going faster and closer towards the end!

You are in the correct lane today!

This is when you get rid of any discouragements that you have in your life today, ignore limitations or past glories that you know, prepared yourself well from letting any external factors to affect you, getting your self-confidence in place saying “this is my race”, and decide to go for excellence and win it right now.

It is time to run this one mile dash we call The Excellence Mile. You are good to go!

Here’s the first part of the two part series on The Excellence Mile. The second part is up now. Thanks guys!

Let’s get onto The Excellence Mile! Subscribe to Winning Everyone today and get the latest in this series fresh today!

Popularity: 41% [?]