It is so enriching to enjoy a display of top class work performed by others. It enriches us culturally and energetically to be present or participate in the act of someone who is doing something they love at a sublime level.
As most if not all of you know by now, NLP is based on studying the models of excellence of people who are excellent in their fields. That is how Bandler and Grinder started out, observing the work of Fritz Perls, Milton Erickson and Virginia Satir to discover what it was that they did that worked so well and how we could learn from their internal processes and apply them to our own contexts.
So, what might we want to be excellent for?
1) To fulfil ourselves
2) To give ourselves satisfaction
3) To develop talents that have been god-given
4) To contribute to society and our fellow human beings
5) To help develop our field of interest
6) To know and experience peak moments in which we experience flow and achievement
7) To grow
And what is excellence?
In the end, excellence like everything on earth is subjective. In given fields, there may be rules and standards or technical requirements to fulfil. Yet, apart from that, excellence includes something more, an internal quality that may be like a fire within, a glow, a determination, a desire that allows the person to transcend the mundane and reach a higher level.
Excellence is also relative. What we expect from a five year-old at painting is not the same as what we expect from a world-famous portrait artist. Each can be excellent. What makes the difference between excellence and less than excellence has to do with the investment we make in the activity, the concentration, effort, love and other skills we bring to something to do the best we can and better than we have previously.
Let us explore behaviours that would not count as excellent.
a) copying someone else's work without having done the work or preparation of the other,
b) denying another person the opportunity to develop their potential, to shine or to learn,
c) criticising the excellence of others on some small point or criterion which does not in fact devalue the performance,
d) making a half-hearted effort and passing it off as the best you can do,
e) not investing love, intent, effort and time in your work,
f) doing things we are not interested in or know that we will never make an effort to do well when there are other activities we would much prefer to do (even if it is sometimes difficult to admit it!),
An important point to remember is that what society or the media places a value on as excellent is a given moment is only a guide. Certainly, it tends to reflect the values of a society at the time, but there are many less spectacular ways in which to be excellent. We can be excellent as a homemaker, a gardener, at performing bureaucratic tasks, at making a sale in a small shop, at sex (!), whatever …. There is no human activity which cannot be performed with degrees of skill and quality.
What about excellence in teaching?
Some ways we can strive for it are as follows:
§ be fully present in our classes
§ listen to our students
§ know each and everyone of our students
§ nurture our students
§ create conditions for learning
§ prepare our classes
§ be conscientious
§ be honest
§ enjoy what we do (if we no longer enjoy it, take a break)
Another area that we can reach for excellence in our lives is to develop ourselves personally.
Here we can:
§ continue to upgrade ourselves in our profession
§ study other things to enrich ourselves that are not necessarily academic at all
§ look after ourselves physically and emotionally
§ learn how and when to say 'yes' and 'no'
§ cultivate discipline
§ unlock our creativity
§ seek inspiration
§ pay attention to good models
§ be our own inspiration to
§ constantly look at the world with wonder
We undermine this when we:
ignore the needs of our students
are ungenerous in sharing our knowledge and expertise
try to compete simply to shadow someone else
deny people the chance to learn
pretend to know something we don't
close the door to learning by thinking we know it all
So, let's make a New Year's resolution now. Let's aspire to do as much as we can with a level of excellence. Let's search for and acknowledge the examples of excellence around us. Let's create conditions for others to develop their excellence. Let's remember to constantly enjoy the process of striving towards excellence. And let's remember also to relax and allow ourselves to take the time we need to reach the excellence we require. If we put too much pressure on ourselves to be superb immediately, we may very well impede the process.
Wishing you well in your quest!!!!
