From T. H. Bell: Keys to Attaining Excellence in Our Lives:
In the report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, this prestigious body defined excellence as “performing at the outer limits of one’s capacity.” We should find little reason to argue with the Commission’s definition. All of us should seek to reach highest levels of performance limited only by ability. To do one’s best is to obtain fulfillment and satisfaction. We should find little reason to argue with the Commission’s definition. All of us should seek to reach the highest levels of performance limited only by ability. To do one’s best is to attain fulfillment and satisfaction. To fall short of this is to squander our potential. The only way to live a rich and rewarding life is to know deep down that we have not withheld our best effort as we face the challenges and opportunities that come our way.
In my lifetime, the deepest sorrow has come when I have failed, knowing that I did not use the full intensity of my mind, body, and spirit to attain what I had set out to do. My greatest joy has been found in accomplishments which I had invested my very best effort. Sometimes I have failed in spite of the best energy and talent I could muster. In those failures I have felt some disappointment but never the lingering remorse and self-incrimination that come from knowing I have not done my best.
To attain excellence in our lives, we must approach each task with a will to use the full limits of our talent.
We often conclude that we cannot reach high levels of accomplishment because we have not been endowed with the ability to do so. We think that we are not bright enough or that we lack the specific talent. But we seldom use our full capacities. I am reminded of a very remarkable school girl to whom I taught chemistry.
In our small high school, the students and faculty were well acquainted. Teaching and learning were individualized and personal. This young woman came to my attention when she was in the ninth grade. We gave her several IQ tests because her achievement in school far exceeded that of many classmates who scored much higher on a highly respected intelligence test. The highest she ever scored was 97. but her achievement exceeded two very bright and talented students who had a score above 130. She was an exemplary student who utilized every opportunity and every moment of the day. Learning was not easy, especially when new and somewhat complex subject matter was being introduced, but she was very intense. She was never reluctant to ask questions and to reveal what she did not know. She had a deep and abiding will to achieve, and exam questions missed were mastered and never missed in any subsequent test. What she lacked in brilliance she made up in effort and by steady relentless pursuit of mastering her lessons.
This young woman graduated at the head of her class and was valedictorian. She reached her goal to be the best because she had learned that it took her longer to learn. She knew that her steady, unrelenting effort would bring her to full mastery, if she were willing to pay the price.
I will always remember this remarkable student. She was an inspiration to the faculty and her classmates. Her example was contagious. Hers was living proof that the will to learn and self-discipline to use time wisely and effectively will lead to success that never comes to those who, regardless of talent, hold back their best effort. A positive attitude, full commitment, and self-discipline to work hard can all compensate for endowed talent. You don’t have to be bright to attain excellence. You just have to be ambitious.
Why do individuals of equal talent seem to show such vast differences in performance? What motivates some to face adversity and failure with stubborn determination that leads to triumphant success after long periods of discouragement? What causes others to make a half-hearted attempt and then leave college with an alibi? The rich inner spirit of one who achieves seems to conquer the promptings to quit and declare the task to be impossible.
Through my many years of education, it has been my privilege to observe hundreds of students as they meet those crucial points in academic accomplishment where those with will and character meet and surmount obstacles while those prone to discouragement and failure use them as an excuse to gain relief from the burdens of study. Mental labor is difficult. Learning new subject matter and mastering crucial skills lead all of us to periods of self-doubt, fear of failure, and inner feelings of inadequacy. But anyone who can think can learn, if he or she will try and fail and try and fail and come back to the task again and again. What one student learns with ease, another may have to attain by paying a much steeper price in toil and effort. But those who learn with difficulty seem to appreciate their attainments—they seem to retain and utilize what was learned because it was attained a very dear price.
Some parents, it seems to me, have so much compassion and love for their children that they are not capable of the benefit of giving them a childhood filled challenges and discipline that will build strength, stubborn will, and a “can-do” attitude. To help our children attain excellence in their lives, we must discipline them and love them. We must encourage them and reward them. We must forge the inner steel of a strong character by seeing that they have a healthy amount of creative tension in their lives. Too much generosity, compassion, and parental intervention, and assistance will destroy the very thing most parents want for their children. ~~T.H. Bell, From the book “Excellence“, multiple authors (Salt Lake City, Deseret Book, 1984) p.1-3 (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1984) p.1-3, Continued with. . .* Attaining Excellence II
