Power Tool: Excellence vs. Status Quo

A Coaching Power Tool Created by Roxanne Coates
(Career Coach, CANADA)

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined. Henry David Thoreau

Acknowledging that not every Power Tool will be appropriate for every client in every situation, I’ve developed one which could be considered when coaching a client who may be ‘caught in the ordinariness of life’.  As a coach you may catch some glimmer of your client wanting more, but unable to dredge up the will to bring himself out of the comfort of his discomfort. It is also intended for the client who is already living a good life but has a burning energy inside of them to do more.

Excellence:

an action, characteristic, feature, etc., in which a person excels (online dictionary)

Status quo:

maintaining the present situation (online dictionary)

Where do we see examples of excellence? Athletics, Nobel prize winners, ordinary people overcoming tragedies in life or simply being there for others. Excellence can be observed everywhere, excellence can even be said to be in the ‘eye of the beholder’. Excellence is to push oneself beyond one’s perceived abilities leading to personal greatness. It is an internal energy that buoys a person above the ordinariness of the mundane and the everyday. People who strive for excellence do not settle for ‘good enough’ or have a ‘it’s been done that way forever so why change it now’ attitude.  Strivers for excellence are personal change agents.

Imagine in your mind a time when you felt on top of the world and you had a full tank of confidence and energy; remember what that felt like and what you felt you could achieve in that moment.

Now imagine a day at a mundane job doing the same tedious work you’ve been doing for a very long time; no challenges, no inspiration; just more of the same. What was your confidence and motivation levels like during that time?  Were you inspired to do your best and stretch yourself to achieve untold goals, even in your personal life; most likely not.

The pursuit of excellence is about personal growth, striving to be better, to self-improve.    Excellence is the pursuit of surpassing expectations of ourselves from a healthy, personal growth aspect.  It is a personal path to fulfill our own dreams, not to meet the expectations of others. Committing ourselves to the path of excellence is to acknowledge a set of higher standards for ourselves. Continuous improvement is the life one leads when following this path.

Excellence is an umbrella for self-confidence, truth, self-validation, hope and achievement.  It is knowing deep within oneself the possibility of choice.  There is also the acknowledgement of connection with others who are ‘social fertilizer’ for our personal growth.  It is recognizing limiting beliefs, working through them and moving further along the path to a better life.

Self-confidence is the spring-board to achieving excellence, and it is only by exercising and stretching the muscle of self-confidence that excellence can be achieved.