No matter what your present circumstances are, the first step to becoming better is the commitment to do just that. Donald Pillai shares his experiences on why being better is better than best.
It is amazing how many businesses, marketing gurus, mentors, coaches lawyers and doctors, even rocket scientists like to present themselves as "the best." To claim that you are the best in any industry or area of expertise is simply untrue - or at least there is no way to actually measure it even if it is true. At the end of the day, there is no way for any business or person to say they offer the best of anything - service, quality or features. There are no standard metrics and we really have no idea who all the competitors are. Your competitive juices must be flowing continuously to be better than the rest.
The good news is, you don't need to be the best. You can be better.
"The best" is an impossible standard that lacks credibility even though it might be supported by testimonials, endorsements and accolades. Think about this; "better" is a more realistic claim and a much easier comparison to make. You can say you are driven, determined, compelled to offer better service or products than any other in the area and, more importantly, to outdo your own great service every year. This seemingly lower claim is actually much more realistic, much more believable and much more appealing.
The standard of "better" also keeps you on your toes and keeps you moving swiftly in a forward direction. You become fully aware that thinking you are better means you have to keep pushing, learning and improving because there is still room for improvement. Being the best is a note of finality and only offers a short-term advantage.
Once you're the best, there is no incentive to push any harder and laziness or complacency start to set in and you are at risk of being bashed on all sides by every competitor... bashed by everyone working to be better. Now you know that for all those "bests" out there who believe their motivation is to stay the best, they are only fooling themselves. The motivation to improve, to get better, is always more powerful than the false incentive to stay in one place, even if it's the best.
Any great accomplished athlete, company or leader that is actually capable of staying ahead of the pack for any noteworthy period of time is able to do so not because they think they are the best, but because they show up every day to do better than their most important competitor of all: themselves. Pushing yourself and those around you to be better is the only way to be better than best.
As I shoot this message to your brain you will remember you can become better than the best every time you desire to, that is if you stay committed to the cause. Most of us at some level or the other are all familiar with what commitment means. Earlier on we spoke about the 3 "C's" in life. Choice, Chance and Change. Well here is another "C", Commitment. Commitment is where the tyre meets the tar. If you want to achieve the success you desire in any area of your life and becoming better at whatever you do, you need to understand the essential elements needed to make it real, to capture its magic. You have to be committed, genuinely committed to becoming better and better day by day in every way. Commitment also means promise, pledge, vow, obligation, assurance, word, and guarantee.
To have a genuine commitment requires three things.
- Desire. The very fact that you are still reading here is more than enough proof that you have a strong desire, a longing desire. That feels so good, doesn't it? You're on the road to a really exciting, invigorating, refreshing, revitalizing, energizing, enjoyable, most rewarding and unforgettable experience of your life. Stay with me as you realize that desire also means wish, want, longing, craving, yearning, need, aspiration, and plea. You are better than that. You can have the desires of your heart. You can have all your dreams come true.
- Faith. You need to stay committed on faith. You need to have the faith in the process. With your desire and your willingness to have faith in yourself, your commitment to become better will emerge to become stronger and stronger. You will feel sensational and you and it will strengthen and uphold you as you take charge, ownership of each and every one of your extraordinary talents and abilities that is unique only to you.
- Belief. On one of my many visits to the USA, I was suddenly called from the west coast to go to Houston, Texas. I had to take three connecting flights to the east coast and landed at Atlanta, Georgia to catch the last connecting flight to Houston. The plane was not as full as the other flights have been and I was sitting in a 4 seater section with a two seater row on the other side of the aisle.
A young lady looking like in her late twenties was sitting near the window on the other side of the aisle alongside me and seemed to be paging lazily through one of the flight magazines. We were about 15 minutes into full flight when suddenly the plane lurched violently and levelled out just as quickly as it had started. The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: "Fasten your seat belts. Then, after a while, a calm voice said, "We shall not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened." As I looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive. Later, the voice of the announcer said, "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time, the turbulence is still ahead of us." And then the storm broke.
The ominous cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightening lit up the darkening skies, and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean. One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash. As I looked around the plane, I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were praying. By now people were clutching frantically to the seats in front of them. Knuckles were turning white as I realized that I'd never experienced such severe turbulence in all my years of travelling through the air. Then the plane seemed to go over a series of invisible speed bumps by which time all the passengers were panic stricken but no one said a word and I let out a loud laugh.
The young lady alongside me by the window looked at me and asked how I could laugh when we seemed to be in such a grave situation. I told her not to worry and that this plane would never crash especially as I was on board. "What do you mean", she asked. I told her everyone was safe as long as I was on the plane. She unbuckled her seat belt and darted across the aisle to sit next to me. I knew she was going to ask me more questions but before she could, I asked her if she was at high school or if she was going to college. By now as if by a miracle the plane was flying smoothly and I got to know her name as Jessica and we were in a friendly conversation. Jessica told me she had a problem wherever she went because she was in fact 32 years old, a trained psychologist having her own practice but looked 18 years old.
I again laughed as I told her that I had a connection in the highest place and that she was safe as long I was on board. My belief in God and my faith in His ability to protect me was what prompted me to speak out loud and confirm my belief. My belief was my comfort. My belief was my guiding light. What kept me from panicking was what I believe in. Hans Selye who is the pioneer in the understanding of human stress was often asked the following question. "What is the most stressful condition a person can face?" His immediate and unexpected response: "Not having something to believe in." The good news is, you don't have to believe what others have to say about you, you can believe in what you have to say about yourself. What you need is the desire and enough faith to believe the steps you need to take to be better and better. When you do this, you will be well on your way to achieve almost anything you want. By Donald Pillai |
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