Excellence, a habit

... connected to perseverance, priorities and finally values. 

Setting standards

There is the anecdote of two friends travelling through a forest when they hear a lion behind them.  As they plan their escape strategy, one of them says that he is going to run. The other asks him if they really can outrun the lion.  The first one responds, "I do not need to outrun the lion, I just to run faster than you!"

Now what's worse than having no standards or levels of excellence set by oneself?  Lowering them to the level of the last of the group!

In the movie Annapolis, there is nice dialogue between two plebe's (fresh navy recruits) - who are also good friends:

People who live in Arkansas, you know what their favourite state is?
No.
Mississippi. 'Cos, Mississippi is the only thing that keeps Arkansas from being the worst state in the whole country.

We can very well settle for standards far below our capacity or potency, settle for something purely in comparison to the most 'weakest' in the group. Surely there is neither merit nor courage in achieving that set goal or aim!

Perseverance and excellence

One of the virtues that every person keen on doing something worthwhile with his or her life ought to acquire is perseverance. Good intentions are needed at the starting point and they surely trigger great initiatives. However, to keep on and see to the end of what we aspire, especially in times of difficulty and doubt, is a challenge.

This is one area of growth my Brothers here shirk. The following quote aptly describes something very much associated with it - excellence.

Persistence is the twin sister of excellence. One is a matter of quality; the other, a matter of time.

Growing beyond the known

Here's a saying that I'd very much agree with:

Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow. (Ronald E. Osborn)

... and I'm having a blast of time 'growing', especially these days! Of course, there is also the other higher and more demanding step I've to take... growing out of my 'comfort zones'.

Excellence not success

Last night I watched my first hindi movie in a theatre after joining the Salesians... 3 Idiots. It was worth it! Beautiful movie, a good theme (similar to that of the previous movies of Rajkumar Hirani), first class acting and a good cinematography. The story is simple but gripping. The best part I liked of it was that it never dragged. The narration of it too, weaving between the past and present too is appreciated.

I realise that 3 Idiots, like Munnabai MBBS and Lage Raho Munnabai, is an attempt to change the system rather than get rid of a few individuals. This is a good shift in India cinema where there has to be a villian and then a hero who eliminates that villain. In this movie there are no villians, but the whole structure is faulty and therefore the movie is a form of 'satire' on the existing structure, especially that of education. Though not very practical in its realistic take, yet the movie drives home a point with conviction: strive for excellence and education not success and grades.