29 Do you see a man who excels in his work?
Proverbs 22:29 [NKJV]
He will stand before kings;
He will not stand before unknown men.
Hey morning peeps! I got waylaid this morning in my personal plans to do this daily bread earlier on this nice, not-so-humid Singapore weather. But hey, here I am, and I believe that in the eyes of our Lord, that is what really matters—showing up.
For today’s daily bread reflections, I like to begin our reflections from Proverbs 22:29. It is a clear and obvious reminder that when we pursue excellence in every single aspect of our lives, they will come a time in our lives where we might just have the opportunity to stand before the most important people (not necessarily Kings or Queens). Perhaps in a more relevant context, it might bring us before Presidents and Prime Ministers wherever you may be located right now. Okay, maybe that might actually seem a little too far-fetched for most of us. I can absolutely relate. How about our CEOs, or the C-suite individual that runs your entire department? In many of our cases, we may never ever have that opportunity to meet or speak to that person right at the top. I like to assume that for many people who are reading my daily bread entries, like most people, you are just a low-level employee. You clock into work everyday and you clock-out. The most you might interact with on a daily basis are your colleagues and your direct supervisors/managers.
But just because your work won’t be seen or directly appreciated by those at the very top, does it mean that you should only do any less? Just because “they probably won’t notice my effort”, should I just do what is expected of me?
1 Corinthians 10:31 is actually the perfect example that when we are performing our jobs and daily tasks, we shouldn’t just think that nobody is going to take notice of our efforts. We should stop having that kind of mentality/attitude. Instead, we have to tell ourselves that we need to perform our duties and responsibilities as if the CEO himself is our supervisor/manager. If you know that the CEO, or your division head is actually noticing your effort, you will never just do enough at work. I am most willing to bet that you’d be willing to go the extra mile just to show your value/worth. You will not clock-in on time in the morning and clock-out at 6pm. No. You will come in early everyday and you will finish later.
That is also exactly how I am treating my own work every single day now. Sure, I might also be new to the company (it’s just past my first month since I joined the company), but this has nothing to do with that. Okay, maybe a little. It still feels like I’m currently in that “proving my worth/value” phase. But not, the majority of the reason why I am putting so much effort, and willing to go above and beyond is because I am both passionate about my work and I also feel a sense of purpose and meaning in what I get to do. Being in a fully remote working condition also means that my boss can’t really see what I am physically doing every hour of every day. But just because he can’t see what I am doing, it doesn’t mean that I should take it easy, or take lots of breaks. Instead, it is because he cannot see what I am doing that I want to be even more diligent. Because when it comes time for me to check-in with him, I want to be able to show him what I have done. I believe my results/effort will be shown during those progress check-ins.
What is True Excellence?
Discussing about true excellence has fast become one of my favourite personal topics of discussion. If you are also someone who enjoys talking about excellence and what it means and exchanging ideas and tips, I welcome you to connect with me (or at least subscribe to my personal blog).
Okay, so, let’s talk about what real/true excellence in our lives means, and what it is supposed to look like. When it comes to pursuing excellence, be it in our daily work, or school or in our own private lives, I believe it is more about the consistency of effort that we put in rather than the final outcome (end results). For many of us, we do have goals. Goals for our work, goals for our studies, goals for our personal lives. Maybe you have a goal to want to be promoted within the next 3 years. Maybe you want to score an A, or B for that subject in school. Maybe you have a personal financial goal of wanting to set aside $5k by the end of the year. Whatever your goal might look like, it is usually never about the end results or what it might look like at the end. Instead, it’s always about what you are willing to do on a daily basis. The kind of effort that you are willing to make when you get up each day.
When I recently came across this image/illustration on LinkedIn, I absolutely fell in love with what it means, and what it is trying to tell us about consistency and daily effort. Being consistency does mean that we always show-up everyday. We might feel great on some days, and we could be struggling on other days. So it is to be expected that our daily outputs (end results along the way) might look quite different. But just because our final outputs for those days don’t look the same, it doesn’t mean that we are not giving our very best.
At least, that is something I hope that we will constantly remind ourselves. This is what we ought to be striving towards on a daily basis—that final row in the illustration.
Are there areas in your life right now where you could do with a little more consistency? I understand that there can be moments in our lives where we would feel like we are burning out, or that there is a lack of motivation to keep trying. I know how tempting it is to want to just release the gas pedal and just stop. I have been there so many times myself. But I also want to be here to remind and encourage you that you don’t have to stop your efforts entirely. I encourage you to slow down instead. You can renew your effort by starting small. Just do a little bit everyday, or every week (whatever your goal might be). Don’t make big commitments. Start small. Make it tiny even if you have to. At the end of the day, every little bit will accumulate and become a lot over time.
Personal Prayer for Today
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for speaking to me in such an impactful and meaningful way today. Thank You for everything that You have allowed me to go through in recent years. It is because of those struggles and sacrifices that I had to make that I’ve finally understood and appreciate the importance/value of excellence.
Thank You for “training” me through those experiences so that I would have this increased level of grit and perseverance to be consistent in my daily efforts. As much as I know that the end results do matter in our lives and our work, I know that what really defines us isn’t the end results, but the effort that we make on a daily basis. It’s about showing up regardless of whether we are having a good or bad day.
Thank You for also reminding me that our consistency in effort on a daily basis won’t always look the same when our outputs are measured from day-to-day. And that is okay.
As I proceed with the rest of my Sunday, and I continue with my work-related tasks and doing some of my revision for my part-time studies, I pray that You will bless me with that renewed energy and focus so that I can have a fruitful and productive day in both my work and studies.
I vow to give You all the praise and all the glory. In Jesus’ mighty name I pray.
Amen.
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