I would like to share with you a story that I came across on the social media.
A German once visited a Temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an Idol of god. Glancing around, he noticed a similar idol lying nearby…
Surprised, he asked the sculptor, “Do you need two statues of the same idol?”
“No,” said the Sculptor without looking up, “We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage…”
The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. “Where is the Damage?” he asked.
“There is a scratch on the nose of the idol,” said the sculptor, still busy with his work.
“Where are you going to install the Idol?” asked the gentleman.
The Sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high.
“If the idol is going to be placed that high who is going to know that there is a small scratch on the nose?” the gentleman asked.
The sculptor stopped working, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said,
“I will know it.”
The desire to Excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates or finds fault with it or not.
Modern psychology stigmatizes seekers of perfection with certain amount of negativity, defining that the desire to be perfect burdens many people and ironically dooms them to unhappiness. Well, to a certain extend perfectionism, i.e., an individual’s belief that he or she must be perfect to be acceptable, can prove to be harmful. But, the pursuit of ‘excellence’, the desire to attain a goal of excellence, to achieve a higher level, to be the best that one can be but without the demand attached to the goal or desire, is important for success in life.
Pursuance of excellence is a way of life that differentiates dreamers from achievers. Excellence demands tremendous effort and focus. “Excellence” is a drive from inside, not outside. Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for our own satisfaction and efficiency. Don’t climb a mountain with an intention that the world should see you, climb the mountain with the intention to see the world!
