Make Excellence A Habit

As I opened the door to proceed on my exercise this morning it dawned on me that I had not brushed my mouth.

‘No be solitary walk, wey only you go waka? No waste time, make we dey go’. ‘What is more your mouth no dey smell’. I rationalized, lazy to go back and eager to start off on the walk. The warm lemon water I drank as I got out of bed as a health regime cleansed my breath but as the popular advert says, ‘If no be Panadol, e no fit be like Panadol’.

‘What if I met someone & I need to whisper or talk in close proximity?’ That killed the dissension to do what I considered to be right. As I dashed back into the house to complete the morning hygiene ritual, I had a warm feeling: We must always strive for excellence in all we do.

• Is it creased clothes? Iron it.
• A knowledge gap? Bridge it. Quick! Why you get all those plenty books for your back, na just for show for your Zoom meetings?
• A job or assignment with mistakes in the finishing or other parts? Correct it!
• Did someone criticize you? There are haters o, but check if there is any merit in the criticism & make the required improvement.
• You made a mistake and know how to make things right? Let nothing hold you back.
• Your significant other is nagging or the relationship is on the brink? you may paint a picture of being a saint, but check the details & play your part.

Remember, it is not in ‘big things’ that your power lies, check out the ‘small things’, improve on them and see the ‘big things’ take care of themselves & that’s what I do.

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You can make improvement leading to achievement of your goals if you seek excellence in ‘small things’ like when you wake, what you eat and how much of it. When you talk and keep quiet; when, what and how much you read, study and meditate. A little effort here & there will improve you in remarkable ways beyond your imagination.

Let excellence be our watchword. Whatever we do, let us do things the best way we know-how. And let us always try to grow our knowledge so we can improve. Let us be determined to raise our performance to the highest level possible and then seek to break that record.

When you realize something is not right or you have done something which you can improve on, be determined to do so and do not hesitate! Do not be like the man mentioned in the Scriptures who looks at himself in the mirror and forgets what he looks like.*

You know the good part of my decision to stick to a higher standard of hygiene this morning? I met a few persons that I interacted with closely & who could have smelt the unfresh breath. One of them gave me fresh mangoes he had promised me some days back & we bumped shoulder as I expressed thanks.

Corrective action driven by excellence saved some embarrassment. Striving for excellence always does. Are you in?

*James 1: 23 – 25 – 23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, this one is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself, and he goes away and immediately forgets what sort of person he is. 25 But the one who peers into the perfect law that belongs to freedom and continues in it has become, not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work; and he will be happy in what he does.

Image Credit: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/, https://www.law.com/