Excellence vs. Success

Excellence vs.. Success Ohio Christian University 2 Excellence and success are two words that most people have a fear of either having or not having. Growing up in an ever changing world where technology was Just beginning, cell phones were giant radios that you would carry around in a big black box and the internet was rarely heard of by the hustle and bustle of every day common people, excellence was not even in my vocabulary. It seems to take a great number of us most of our adult life to live up to our full potential and sadly, many of us never do.
Johnston Nonstop 2004) defines excellence and success in a manner that anyone could understand. He says it is a certain life style, a manner of living, a hierarchy of values, an admirable self-imposed standard (p. 25). Excellence is determined by the individual defining it and, therefore, means for each of us the definition of excellence is different and on our own terms. According to Johnston (2004) success, on the other hand, is defined by cultural ideas, that “pot of gold at the end of the rainbow’ (p. 30). The question is does success outweigh excellence in today’s society?
We are defined by our clothes, the cars we drive, the house we live in, our bank accounts and even our friends. We all strive for success, that pot of gold, but how many of us strive for excellence? Excellence and success can be prevented by a lack of confidence and fear. We seem to put unrealistic expectations on ourselves and that fear of failure prevents many of us from living up to our full potential, this I have learned from my own personal experience. For these two words 3 being so closely related, society seems to get them greatly confused. There was a time success was most important to me but not anymore.

When I was saved I began to strive for excellence Just by my actions. Living a life of Christ requires excellence which reminds me of a bible verse I read “Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates”. (Proverbs 31 :31 XIV). My actions today need to reflect upon me when I reach the gates of heaven. I will make mistakes along the way because I am human but I also know that as long as I give 110 percent I am doing my best. References Johnston, J. , & Costing, K. W. (2004). Christian Excellence: Alternative to Success (2nd De. ). Franklin, TN: KOOK pub.