There's a difference between striving for excellence and seeking perfection. Excellence is about living from the highest part of your Self - the part that is the most like God. It's about living from your highest thought, your highest action, your highest word. It is the truest, most real part of yourself. It is who you were Meant to Be when you chose to show up on this earth.

Perfection is something else. It's about accepting the entire package of Who You Are with your faults, quirks, and flaws. It's realizing that there is perfection in everything imperfect. You are exactly as you were meant to be for this moment. You will progress farther in life. Staying stuck in your current situation is being stagnant. You can choose to stagnate or to move forward. That choice is up to you.

Choosing excellence means you wake up, look around your life, and realize that you might possibly be in a place you weren't meant to stay either emotionally, mentally, or physically. It means you become aware that the role you are playing wasn't meant for you. (Gotta love James Taylor!) Striving for excellence allows you to see that your thoughts, words, and actions have to be congruent in order to achieve that state of being. Your awareness allows you to see that you have been physically ill, or mentally off kilter, or emotionally distraught because you haven't been living from the deepest, most real part of Who You Truly Are. It's been known that a lot of people stay living inside their "comfortable misery" because that is "all they know". It's also been noted that that statement doesn't have to be true. Many people have "risen from the ashes", so to speak, and have overcome tremendous odds and difficulties. They have become as butterflies, breaking free to fly, from within the safety of their cocoon.

Within each of you is the ability to break free, to live out your life as an example of what excellence looks like. Within each of you is also the free will to become consciously aware of what you wish to strive towards in life. You have choices. You have the ability within your innate empowerment to overcome whatever it is you desire to change about your life. The biggest part of change is twofold: (1) knowing that you cannot change your circumstances all the time, but you can definitely change your attitude towards them so that it brings more peace to your life and (2) knowing that the only thing that is constant in life is change. Life is not stagnant at all. Each day brings something new, if you so seek to find it. There is beauty in each day. Sometimes, it takes a lot more searching to see the goodness, but if you seek to see even one thing that is positive during the day, you will be able to find one more positive thing for which to be grateful in every consecutive day. Striving for excellence means keeping the most positive thoughts and actions on your priority list. The more "positivity" you consciously seek, the more you will find. The more you find, the more doors will be opened for you to make your life a better, more peaceful place. It inspires you towards more excellence, towards fulfilling your life's purpose. It's all that was ever intended from the beginning - for you to be and express Who You Truly Are and to live in a world of peace, acceptance, and love. That is what excellence truly is.

Author's Bio: 

Lene' has 30+ years of life experience in the Self-Realization field. From becoming a Peer Counselor as a High School Senior to staffing an experiential self-knowledge seminar in Phoenix, called Omega Vector. She has worked as a speaker/facilitator for support groups (Al-Anon, CoDa, Parents Anonymous and Women Who Love Too Much), sharing relationship techniques with others as well as helping them find ways to build higher self-esteem and empowerment.
Lene' wrote a book in 2001, which is now self-published, called Reality in Disguise. It speaks of the strength of the human spirit and is based on her life. She just completed a second book and third book, which will be published soon online as an ebook. They are about the "rememberings"/awarenesses of who she truly is and the lessons she has learned through her journey in this life.
She is a freelance writer, motivational speaker, peer counselor and student of the higher consciousness movement. Her goal and desire here is to reach out and help or share with anyone that needs a listening ear or a bit of guidance. If the need is just for someone who can empathize and understand where they're coming from, she can do that, too!

Thank you, bless you and may your deepest dreams and most positive goals manifest themselves in your life! You create your universe with your thoughts, so let the manifesting begin!