The Pursuit of Excellence

Although it's already April 1 I've been thinking a lot lately about listening to some of my own advice. . .

Sacrament Meeting Talk Circa Jan 1, 2006

With the start of a new year I think most of us think about things we want to accomplish. Many make new year’s resolutions. As a teacher in Davis District I had the opportunity to be involved with parents and children in the SEP process. Children from kindergarten to 12th grade no longer just have Parent Teacher conferences but they are involved each quarter in making goals.

I have often thought about that process. Those little 5 years olds worked very hard throughout the year and were very mindful of their goals. Their goals were very important in their development. They became better students, friends, and citizens. As we would review their goals at the end of each quarter each of those children had a very real sense of accomplishment.

As adults we too should be pursuing excellence in our lives. We are all children of God, and there is something of his divinity in each of us. We are more than just Mr. and Mrs. So and so who reside in such-and-such place. We are the family of God, with such a tremendous potential for excellence. So what goals can we set this year that will help us in our pursuit of excellence? It’s easy, anything of a noble and worthwhile purpose which will strengthen our lives and help us to be Christ-like.

We will find our greatest example is the Son of God. We should set goals that help us to walk in his paths—extending mercy, blessing those who struggle, living with less selfishness, and reaching out to others.

He is the greatest example of excellence in all the world. He came to earth under the most humble of circumstances. He grew up as the son of Joseph the Carpenter. He struggled with the adversary on the Mount of Temptation. He came forth beautiful and magnificent to teach the world. During His brief ministry He brought more of truth, more of hope, more of mercy, more of love than anyone else who has walked the earth. He died on Calvary’s cross for each of us. He arose the third day, the first fruits of them who slept, bringing promise of resurrection to all mankind and the hope of exaltation to all who would walk in obedience to His teachings. He was the great role model of righteousness, the only perfect man ever to walk the earth. His was the wondrous example whom each of us might point our lives in our eternal quest for excellence.

As each of us carefully select our goals for this coming year we need to select goals that we can be committed to. In this life we have choices not just choices between good and evil but choices between good and good. In the 13th article of Faith we read, “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, of good report or praiseworthy we seek after these things.” We need to realize we cannot seek after them all at the same time. We have also been told if it’s worth doing it’s worth doing well. Well things are only worth doing if they didn’t have to be done so well they interfere with more important things. We can pursue goals to increase our spirituality, intellect, our physical health, increase our service, improve our talents or character or other worthy endeavors. But, we need to remember to everything there is a season. It is important for us to set our priorities by inspiration and by listening to our living prophet. I learned an important lesson in goal setting with my kindergarteners that valuable goals are in areas where we are already working or need improvement. Each year one child wanted to set a goal to write in cursive. Is this a worthy endeavor? Yes, but it was more important for them to have a goal to improve something they were already working on like learning the alphabet or writing their 1st and last name.

After we have selected our goals we need to be committed to carrying them out and just like my kindergarteners design a plan to accomplish those goals. Goals need to be measurable and not vague. As we set our goals we should ask ourselves and even write down: how many, how long, what time, and when we will be finished. Setting goals is like riding a bicycle. It’s easier to keep balance when we are moving toward something than when we are standing still. It’s easy to say my goal is to lose 20 lbs. this year but how are you going to measure your progress?

As I thought about pursuing excellence and goals I thought of my own running. I ran my first 5K at age 7 and continued running until I was married. While training and before, during , and after my races I thought about the idea that the winner is the one that wants it more. If you have ever watched the Olympic Games you have the opportunity to view the greatest athletes in the world performing at the best of their abilities. In each Olympics many of these athletes score the most points, have the fastest times, or the greatest distances in the history of the Olympic Games.

But how do they do it? What makes a great athlete? A great Olympic Champion once addressed these questions. He named some important factors such as great coaching, good equipment, and pure natural talent. All of these ingredients can go into the recipe for a great athlete, and each will help in its own way. But there is one quality that rises above all, and without it, the athlete is not complete. The ingredient is desire.

The athlete with the greatest desire to succeed will stand a greater chance of reaching his or her goal. The same holds true for all of us. A five-year study of many of the US’s top athlete’s, musicians, and scholars recently concluded that “drive and determination, not great natural talent, led to their extraordinary success.

In determined athletes we see the difference between knowing and doing. Those who really desire to reach their goals will do whatever they must do in order to achieve them.

When you observe those same athletes they don’t win by running twice as fast or scoring twice as many points they win by a fraction of a second or a fraction of an inch. In order to reach their goal these athletes gave a little extra everyday to make a difference. In whatever your goal is just give it a little extra everyday. Fifteen minutes a day for one year can add up to over ninety-one hours. Look at how time well spent can add up! In terms of our goals and life we need to apply a little more effort and a little more self-discipline. Let’s not settle for Mediocrity. President Hinckley has said, “Don’t be a scrub! Rise to the high ground of excellence. You can do it. You may not be a genius. You may be lacking in some skills. But you can do better than you are doing now. You are people with a present and with a future. Don’t muff the ball. Be excellent.”

Today is the 1st day of a new year. Today can be your day of decision. Think, Ponder, and pray about the goals in your life. The goals you set can have far-reaching consequences. One of my favorite quotes is, “The door of history turns on small hinges, and so do peoples lives.”

In Matt. 5:48 Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father which is in heaven is perfect.”

All of us cannot be geniuses, but we can strive for excellence. This quest may be a long one. It may be filled with much repentance, and it will take much effort. President Hinckley has told us, “Do not settle yourselves short. You are sons and daughters of God, children with divine potential. And as Alma said, “Look to God and live.”

The excellence of which we dream may not be attainable in its entirety. But there will be progress as we set goals and try. There will be growth. There will be improvement. And we will have much added happiness.

It was said of the Master in Acts that , “He went about doing good.” In that process He became the epitome of perfection.

I pray that as you make goals this year you will reach for the stars. I am confident that if you stumble and fall you will be happy knowing that you made the effort. In each of our pursuit’s of excellence may we know what we should do, do what we should do, and be what we should be.