Excellence is a never ending journey in life. It is like a journey ,with no destination in sight. We can improve ourselves every day of our lives and in every way. The best examples of practising excellence ,are our sportspersons. Even the world champions in any sport, never think they have arrived. They always think, they have a lot more to learn and do to excel in their sport.

Being in the HR function, I have been asked by many employees as to -“how do i plan my career ?” . I would always say – try to excel in whatever you do. Be the best that you can be and nobody can ignore you ,in your career. Imagine a cricketer scoring consistently in domestic tournaments ,year after year. The selectors may find it difficult to ignore him for the national team ,unless they are open to public criticism ,after they have selected the team.

The path to excellence is a quest in quality. We can and may be ,we should never consider ourselves, as arrived ,in whatever we do. If we are a painter, we could be the best in the state or the country. We could even become one of the best in the world. But, the journey cannot end there. What do you need to do to remain ,on top of the world ?

The best musicians across the world in vocal or instrumental will not rest with a grammy award or any other world recognition. They are aware that although they may have attained global recognition, there is still a lot to learn and grow. They will continue to practise every single day and strive for excellence ,in whichever branch of music they pursue.

Life is no different. We may be working in any field. We may be a student, a junior at the work place or the CEO of a company. We may be running a successful business or even a sportsperson, who has won the gold at the last Olympics. It does not matter. We need to realise that the quest for excellence ,for all of us , is a never ending journey.

We need to continually strive to be the best we can be ,at a particular time . If we relax at that point of time, we may be left behind and others may overtake us. The journey to excellence is a life long one. We cannot rest ,unless we do not want to be the best.

I have met people from different walks of life. Ordinary people with extra ordinary dreams. They set their goal and work towards it, with zest. They do not rest even after they have achieved their best. This is because they realise ,that even a world record ,does not remain static for ever. What was the best and a world record in the last olympics ,may not even qualify for the next olympics.

We need to learn and grow every single day ,of our lives. We need to reset our goals ,as soon as we achieve them ,if we strive to be the best in whatever we do. There is no end game ,for excellence. There could be milestones along the way but the end will always be ,like an elusive dream. We need to strive to achieve the impossible ,by continuously striving to be the best.

Let the journey of excellence for us begin today.

S Ramesh Shankar

20th Jan 2025