Everyone says “Excellence” is a journey that never ends. I sometimes ask as to how to discover this journey in life. It looks like it is easier said than done.

I was watching a TV show recently and realised what this could mean to us in our everyday lives. I saw a flautist, who played the flute as if God was playing the flute through his fingers.

I have seen sportspersons win match after match and still never feel they have arrived. They always think ,that there is something better to play in the next match, than whatever they have done so far. This is true for individual players as well as teams.

I have met subject matter experts, who can speak endlessly on their subject and can answer all your questions ,as if the subject was discovered by them on earth. Their quest to learn is never ending and their thirst for knowledge is limitless.

One meets common men and women in everyday life who excel in whatever they do and we imagine they have peaked in their domain. However, when we meet them each time, they make you realise that their journey has just begun.

A sculptor is not happy with a masterpiece nor a musician with a Grammy winning song. An actor does not end his journey with an Oscar nor a sportsperson with an Olympic medal. What makes us pause our journey when we do not even excel at our city level, leave alone district, state or country level.

After observing people, who excel in different walks of life I realise that they have some discerning qualities, which may be worth emulating. The first amongst all of these qualities, is their unequalled passion for whatever they do.

A sculptor may spend years to create a masterpiece but is never satisfied with just one. Similarly a sportsperson may have won laurels around the world in Olympics or World championships , but still doesn’t stop trying to improve always.

The second quality of a person who excels , is their limitless learning in life. A sportsperson person recently said in a press conference – “There is no failure in sports”. There are good days and bad days. You win some and you lose some but you never give up to do better all over again.

The third quality which I would love to imbibe is that their quest to do better every day of their lives. You never see them resting on their past laurels. What they did yesterday is over and what they are doing today is for a better tomorrow.

Now, let us look as to how we could apply these basic principles in our every day lives. First we need to identify what we are passionate about. Sometimes, we may not be sure and that is fine. We may discover along the way and sometimes even by chance. Once you are passionate about something, your zeal to excel increases.

Secondly, we need to learn to learn, unlearn and re-learn everyday of our lives. What we learnt in our childhood may not be relevant today. What we know today may not be applicable tomorrow , with the changing technologies impacting our lives. So , we need to have limitless quest for learning always.

The third quality is to compete with the best and to begin, compete with oneself. We all can be a better version of what we were yesterday. It could be as simple as the speed of our walking or the way we play a game. As long as we have the passion to excel, our journey never ends.

Life is a journey to excel in whatever we do and then its fun all the way.

S Ramesh Shankar

1st May 2023