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Cultural CriticismPersonal Essays

Ordinary excellence

Julie Mahoney
May 17, 2021 2 Mins Read
242 Views
0 Comments

My name is Julie, not Julia. My hair isn’t long or short. My family isn’t large, or really small. My style doesn’t have a name. All of these things prove my ordinary existence. Me being myself is ordinary. No extreme on any spectrums, not super skinny or chubby. I’m not tall or really short. Yet, I still believe myself to be excellent.

Ordinary excellence is a concept that everyone fits into. Considerably, every single person is ordinary and excellent. People succeed at different things, different techniques, different hobbies. This wide variety of options and freedom allows people to excel in something.

I believe that ordinary excellence is attainable and empowering. To know you have achieved your potential, whatever it may be, in whatever field or career you choose, makes you ordinarily excellent.

The first step to being ordinarily excellent is surrounding yourself with individuals who already are. Seeing their dedication, empowerment, excellence, and creativity will inspire you to like yourself. Whoever they might be, a friend, a family member, a coach, they will help you achieve, yourself, to be ordinarily excellent.

Secondly, you want to slowly integrate ideas and habits that prepare you for advancing. Integrating exercise, whole foods, journaling, gratitude, love, and other healthy habits in your life will be the best way to push yourself. Personally, I love exercising and seeing nature. Spending time outside every day, regardless of the weather, will greatly benefit you and your body. One other important thing to remember is how you live. Being in a clean room and space will declutter your mind as well, and clean your mind of stress. I recommend making every Sunday your refresh day, where you clean and reset for the week — either prepping meals, doing laundry, cleaning surfaces, or sleeping in, to refresh your body and mind.

The last step into becoming ordinarily excellent is maintaining these habits. Slowly integrating them into everyday life, rather than all at once, will make it easier to remain within these habits. It takes time and patience for this to work, and you need to remember everything in moderation. You will never be perfect. You will never always eat cleanly, you will never fully cut out all the bad things in your life, but so long as you try, and do them in moderation you can and will be ordinarily excellent. 

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