Is it hard work? Talent? Secret training methods? Cutting edge gadgets and tools?
In his 1989 research paper titled “the Mundanity of Excellence”, Daniel F. Chambliss researched hundreds of swimmers over half a dozen years, studying them to observe what world-class Olympic swimmers do differently from the rest, in an effort to answer the age-old question: "what causes excellence?"
What differentiates average, from good, from great, from world class?
The findings are very surprising and debunks a lot of our own biases and assumptions: in a nutshell, the key to achieving excellence isn't anything flashy or exciting - it is in fact, very mundane.
There is no secret; there is only the doing of all those little things, each one done correctly, time and again, until excellence in every detail becomes a firmly ingrained habit, an ordinary part of one's every day life.
Quoting a summary of the paper’s conclusion:
"1. Excellence is a QUALITATIVE phenomenon.
Doing more does not equal doing better. High performers focus on qualitative, not quantitative, improvements; it is qualitative improvements which produce significant changes in level of achievement, reflecting vastly different habits, values and goals.
2. Talent is a useless concept.
Varying conceptions of natural ability ("talent", "gifted", "good genes") tend to mystify excellence, treating it as the inherent possession of a few; they mask the concrete actions that create outstanding performance.
3. Excellence is mundane.
Excellence is accomplished through the doing of actions, ordinary in themselves, performed consistently and carefully, habitualized, compounded together, added up over time. While these actions are "qualitatively different" from those of performers at other levels, these differences are neither unmanageable nor terribly difficult, when examined. For example:
- Mary T. Meagher came to practice on time
- some writers always work for three hours each morning before beginning anything else
- a businessperson may go ahead and make that tough phone call
- a job applicant writes ONE MORE letter
- a runner decides, against the odds, to enter the race
Every time a decision comes up, the qualitatively "correct" choice will be made. The action, in itself is nothing special; the care and consistency with which it is made is."
The author's friend who read his paper remarked: It is all very mundane and not very exciting.
To which, the author replied:
"That's the point." (End Quote).
This entire research paper can essentially be summarized by ONE hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ:
سَدِّدُوا وَقَارِبُوا، وَاعْلَمُوا أَنْ لَنْ يُدْخِلَ أَحَدَكُمْ عَمَلُهُ الْجَنَّةَ، وَأَنَّ أَحَبَّ الأَعْمَالِ أَدْوَمُهَا إِلَى اللَّهِ، وَإِنْ قَلَّ
"Do good deeds correctly, get gradually closer to their perfection (i.e. moderately), and know that your deeds (by themselves) will not cause you to enter Paradise,
and that the most beloved deeds to Allah are the ones done consistently, even if they are small." (Narrated by Al-Bukhari)
This paper – and this hadith – is empowering because it tells us that we all got what it takes. And we all meet the minimum requirements.
Consistent, small steps = Big impact.
But it begs the question: if success was so simple and straightforward, why do so few achieve it?
Because so few have the stamina and perseverance to push through the mundane. To put in the effort towards continuous improvement in sharpening their qualitative efforts; to trust the process even though there may not be any perceivable, visible results; to hold themselves accountable to commit themselves to the grind, especially when times of boredom, tiredness, and pain start creeping in; to resist the temptation to tread the convenient path to just take it easy.
Just because a solution is “simple”, doesn’t mean it’s easy. But if it’s important enough to us, we will put in the effort.
We all meet minimum requirements. The question is: How badly do you want it?
#TheBarakahEffect #TheSlightEdge #PowerofHabit #AtomicHabits
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