EXCELLENCE is the state of being outstanding or extremely good.

If you want to achieve excellence (be outstanding or extremely good at what you do) there is one tool you can’t do without and that’s HARD WORK.

This involves being dedicated, focused, and consistent.

This involves not getting swayed by distractions.

Remember that excellence doesn’t happen overnight, it takes strategic action to get there.

Now let’s look at the elements of hard work as pertains to excellence.

1. The drive: This is the motivation and inspiration, the entire reason you work hard, this is the engine that pushes your effort forward. Without a strong drive, you can’t work hard and you can’t achieve excellence.

2. The plan: Now that you have a reason for working hard on your goals, you want to achieve excellence, be extremely good, be that best student, best athlete, an employee of the year, etc. What’s your plan, how are you going to achieve this?

The plan helps you map out a course of action.

3. The grind: This is the point when working hard gets frustrating and stops being fun. How you handle the grind is what separates winners from quitters.

4. The sacrifice: This is the crux of hard work, any ambitious goal requires significant personal sacrifice.

Hard work matters because;

1. Hardwork leads to self-development: Hardwork is no easy fit, but when you keep at something no matter the challenges, it helps you build perseverance and patience.

You also learn to manage your time effectively. It also helps you to build discipline.

2. Builds your reputation: Hard workers are seen as dependable people because there are focused and do not procrastinate. They get the work done and do not make excuses.

When you work hard you automatically become dependable. People would have confidence in you to get anything done and done excellently well.

3. Hardwork helps you build confidence: Another benefit of hard work is the confidence it builds in you when you begin to see that progress has been made on what you are working on. This helps you to be more effective in tackling other areas of your life that need improvement.

In summary, excellence cannot be achieved without hard work.

To get anything done perfectly, to get the best grade, to be the best in your profession, there has to be a determination to work hard at it. To read, to research, to learn a skill if need be, to not just learn but take in all, practice all, relearn, unlearn and keep going. All this is hard work and the result is excellence.