On a Thursday in early September of 2006, I bought an engagement ring to propose to my then girlfriend. I was very excited about the idea of getting married. But it also made me think about a lot of things. One thing I thought long and hard about was the fact that I was overweight and out of shape. I did not like working out at the time, but I knew I needed to do something. The next day I bought a membership to the YMCA. I began working out everyday and within several weeks, I was obsessed. I loved it. I went from ignoring and abhorring exercise to thinking about it constantly and planning each day, week, and month around exercise.

More than anything, this is what I learned: Attitude Follows Action.

Aristotle says that excellence is an art won by training and habituation. You must make conscious decisions to be thorough in all circumstances. You must make every effort to always give 100% of your energy, concentration, and determination to whatever it is you are focused on. You must look ahead and plan your actions and responses. Anticipate what is next and what is necessary. And always ponder what is right.

In order to live a life well done – to be excellent, full of integrity, and have a life that pleases God – you must understand the importance of being deliberate. And when you begin to take small steps towards excellence things begin to change. You naturally begin to value integrity and determination and actions which once required specific intentionality now become more instinctual. But this begins with deliberance – making specific, individual, deliberate decisions to choose excellence.

Here are two ways you can be deliberate with excellence:

1) Value time. First, make a point to be early. If you have a meeting or someone is expecting you at five, arrive at five minutes before the hour. Being late, even by only a few minutes, demonstrates an attitude of complacency and tells the person you do not consider them at all – you just don’t care and other things simply are more important. That is terribly offensive. Second, work until the very end. If your work ends at five thirty, work until then. Do not mentally disengage at quarter past and then knock off at five twenty five. Be honest. Work.

2) Concentrate on listening. If you focus on nothing else, try this. Each conversation you have, as trivial as it may be, focus on listening first. Give your attention and hear the person out.

You must think through everything. You have to consider everything and from all angles. I have realized recently that excellence is something that finds you. But, it only finds you when you are ready and looking for it. And this happens only when you have approached a circumstance completely and thoroughly. Let me give you an example what I mean.

I have been teaching a high schooler how to play guitar. We were recently talking about what it is like playing in front of people and she mentioned that she was quite nervous. I told her that being nervous is a powerful thing as long as you are prepared. When you know your music so well you learn to control other obstacles (nerves) and use them as adrenaline for your playing. This is where excellence is seen on stage. But nervousness coupled with unpreparedness can be detrimental and impossible to overcome. She must be thorough in her study and preparation of the music. In her training, discipline, and dedication excellence will find her when she is ready for it.

I believe, however, this is much more involved than just “working really hard.” Yes, you must try with everything you’ve got, but you must be smart. You must be thorough. In the case of the guitar player, in addition to playing the song technically correct, am I understanding the dynamics? Am I playing with clarity and intensity? Does the listener understand what I am trying to communicate here? Let me give you another example.

I once prepared for a meeting for work. I did not anticipate the meeting being difficult – IE, difficult personalities or hard discussions/issues – but I knew going into it there was a lot to be prepared for. I was proposing a purchase for something in my department, and I knew I needed to know my stuff otherwise I would be told “not yet.” So I wrote a list of questions to consider that I thought my coworkers would ask OR think:

• How much is it? Can it be found cheaper?
• Why do you need it? Do you need it now? Aren’t you doing ok without it?
• How will this help your mission? Will it pay for itself?
• What can you give up in your budget for it?
• How will it be used? How LONG will it be used for?
• Why should you be allowed to spend money when other departments can’t?
• What will volunteers think? Can they use the equipment?
• Why is this so important when we are struggling to pay our bills? Is this the best use of our resources?

There were numerous other questions and concerns I thought through in this process, but the point is that I was thorough. I did my research on the things I was asking for, and I considered everyone else and how THEY would perceive my request. I was not unprepared. I was ready. And because of my thoroughness, the meeting was excellent.

Next Post- Part Three of Three: Being Deliberate