Chances are, not many of us would buy a book with the title, How I Achieved Mediocrity or How I got to be less than the Best or How to be Average.

We all like to think we are striving for excellence. The truth of the matter is that many of us are stuck in the land of mediocrity, living well below our potential. Surely we are not making the most of the gifts and talents God has given us. 

It was William James who said, "Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake. Our fires are damped, our drafts are checked. We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resource”.

Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the world’s greatest composers. At the top of each music manuscript Bach printed the Latin phrase: Soli Dei Gloria – Solely to the Glory of God.

We may not be artistic geniuses like Bach, but there ought to be some sense in whi

ch we are able to write above our every endeavor, our every work:  Soli Dei Gloria!  We honor God when we make the most of the gifts God has given us, pursuing excellence in all we do.

It is important to realize that the pursuit of excellence is not about achieving perfection. Edwin Bliss once said, ”The pursuit of excellence is gratifying and healthy. The pursuit of perfection is frustrating, neurotic, and a terrible waste of time.”

The perfectionist is going to drive himself or herself nuts, for it simply is not achievable. Perfectionists need to relax and treat themselves with more grace.

Nor is the pursuit of excellence an attempt to be better than everybody else. It is not a quest for superiority. When we think of excellence, it seems we always want to compare ourselves with others. However, there will always be someone better than us in our area of giftedness.

There will always someone who is smarter than us, a better student than us, a better speaker, a better athlete, a better musician, a more disciplined worker - you name it. If that is our standard of excellence – being better than anyone else – we might as well quit now, for someone will come along who will outshine us every time.

Excellence is not about being better than others, but it’s about being a better person than we were the day before.

Achieving excellence requires a worthy goal. Perhaps it is to be the best teacher we can be, or the best doctor, or the best manager or the best engineer, or the best father or mother. Perhaps we are aware that we have some natural talent and desire to become an accomplished musician or painter or athlete.

When setting goals, aim high; risk a little and move out to do those things you believe God has called you to do. Try new things. Undertake new projects. Stretch yourself beyond your self-imposed limitations. Find your passion and pursue it.

I fear we think too little of ourselves. We tend to sell ourselves short. We downplay our gifts. We focus on our limitations and think of all the reasons why we cannot succeed in this or that task or endeavor. We focus on the obstacles rather than the opportunities. We would do much better to give up our small ambitions and dare to do great things for God, for God is able to do far more abundantly than all that we can ask or think.

Excellence always comes with a price tag in terms of blood, sweat and tears. A Harvard psychiatrist says, ”Most people in the world can be divided into two groups. There is the minority, which is challenged by opportunity and is willing to work hard to achieve something, and the majority, which really does not care all that much.”# Are we willing to do what it takes to grow into our God-given potential, as hard as it may be?

A wise man once said, ”Whatever your hand finds it to do, do it with all your might" [Ecclesiastes 9:10]. In other words, give it your best shot. That’s all God asks of you.  Whatever you do, do it to the glory of God.