WEBVTT
1
00:00:01.338 --> 00:00:02.261
Hi everyone,
2
00:00:02.743 --> 00:00:03.806
Malou speaking.
3
00:00:04.549 --> 00:00:06.636
I'm the author of Life's Notebook.
4
00:00:07.737 --> 00:00:09.715
Welcome to the Elevation Grit.
5
00:00:11.257 --> 00:00:13.145
I speak about career,
6
00:00:13.949 --> 00:00:15.696
science and well-being.
7
00:00:16.536 --> 00:00:16.698
Okay,
8
00:00:16.698 --> 00:00:17.386
enough.
9
00:00:17.649 --> 00:00:18.154
Let's talk.
10
00:00:22.019 --> 00:00:25.016
Today we're talking about personal excellence.
11
00:00:25.416 --> 00:00:29.676
What is personal excellence to start with and why is it important?
12
00:00:30.765 --> 00:00:35.024
Personal excellence or the quest for excellence is an inner drive,
13
00:00:35.344 --> 00:00:39.924
an unwavering commitment to realize your full potential,
14
00:00:40.645 --> 00:00:42.384
irrespective in which area.
15
00:00:42.564 --> 00:00:48.024
There are some people who want to be best in their personal life,
16
00:00:48.224 --> 00:00:54.264
others prefer professional life or climate change or God knows what.
17
00:00:54.895 --> 00:01:01.972
So everyone has his own definition of where he wants to realize his full potential.
18
00:01:04.995 --> 00:01:06.722
What is excellence?
19
00:01:06.863 --> 00:01:09.052
It's really a lifelong process.
20
00:01:09.612 --> 00:01:14.852
It's an ongoing journey of self-discovery and self-improvement.
21
00:01:16.261 --> 00:01:20.400
Excellence is not a destination which you reach right now.
22
00:01:20.903 --> 00:01:22.320
It's a lifelong process.
23
00:01:22.500 --> 00:01:24.980
You are working on it to become better,
24
00:01:25.160 --> 00:01:27.720
to become the best version of yourself,
25
00:01:28.302 --> 00:01:30.880
which doesn't mean that you need to be perfect.
26
00:01:31.622 --> 00:01:32.809
That's impossible,
27
00:01:32.849 --> 00:01:33.452
first of all,
28
00:01:33.533 --> 00:01:34.740
to become perfect.
29
00:01:35.181 --> 00:01:37.820
And you don't need to be perfect in everything.
30
00:01:38.060 --> 00:01:42.700
You need to be perfect in the areas which are meaningful to you.
31
00:01:43.269 --> 00:01:49.484
where you decide that's where I want to be perfect or the best version of myself.
32
00:01:49.684 --> 00:01:52.316
Because you are the comparison,
33
00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:54.064
not the other people.
34
00:01:54.204 --> 00:01:59.704
You compare yourself to yourself and you want to be a better version of yourself.
35
00:02:00.591 --> 00:02:02.104
That's the objective here.
36
00:02:07.287 --> 00:02:14.864
And this excellence is accessible to anyone who has the will and the determination,
37
00:02:15.586 --> 00:02:21.284
the persistence in their pursuit to become the best version of themselves.
38
00:02:22.285 --> 00:02:25.354
It's a prerequisite really for happy,
39
00:02:25.835 --> 00:02:28.944
successful people who live a fulfilling life.
40
00:02:30.601 --> 00:02:31.464
Because you see,
41
00:02:32.908 --> 00:02:35.316
people who achieve personal excellence,
42
00:02:35.937 --> 00:02:37.806
they live productive lives,
43
00:02:38.047 --> 00:02:39.876
they have healthy relationships,
44
00:02:40.597 --> 00:02:43.236
they have a sense of inner satisfaction.
45
00:02:44.296 --> 00:02:48.136
This all is very important to be happy with yourself.
46
00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:52.715
So now you will ask me,
47
00:02:53.892 --> 00:02:58.168
what do you need to be actually excellent?
48
00:02:58.508 --> 00:03:02.588
Or what are the steps to follow to become excellent?
49
00:03:03.309 --> 00:03:04.132
First of all,
50
00:03:04.514 --> 00:03:06.140
you need to know yourself,
51
00:03:06.301 --> 00:03:07.224
your strengths,
52
00:03:07.325 --> 00:03:08.208
your weaknesses.
53
00:03:08.528 --> 00:03:10.628
And you can only build on your strengths.
54
00:03:11.288 --> 00:03:14.888
Weaknesses are important and you should acknowledge them.
55
00:03:15.356 --> 00:03:15.846
But really...
56
00:03:16.859 --> 00:03:25.356
Take care of your strengths and that's really what interests you in life and that's what you should be focusing on.
57
00:03:28.269 --> 00:03:32.764
That brings us to the fact that the search for excellence is focus,
58
00:03:32.885 --> 00:03:33.426
focus,
59
00:03:33.527 --> 00:03:33.888
focus.
60
00:03:34.488 --> 00:03:38.808
So don't get distracted by things which are not in your best interest,
61
00:03:39.068 --> 00:03:43.808
which are not according to your goals you want to realize in your life.
62
00:03:44.288 --> 00:03:45.447
Don't get distracted.
63
00:03:46.108 --> 00:03:49.148
And also you have to put up with some pain.
64
00:03:49.368 --> 00:03:54.208
There is no glory without pain because it's not easy to become better.
65
00:03:55.241 --> 00:03:59.096
So you have to establish a path to excellence,
66
00:03:59.698 --> 00:04:04.256
and that is by setting some realistic but ambitious goal.
67
00:04:04.496 --> 00:04:06.036
You need the sky as a limit,
68
00:04:06.276 --> 00:04:18.876
but you still need to be realistic to some extent because otherwise you will be kind of frustrated at the end if you cannot reach it.
69
00:04:21.296 --> 00:04:25.210
Some ambitious measures also need to be measurable,
70
00:04:25.270 --> 00:04:25.732
obviously,
71
00:04:26.793 --> 00:04:32.352
so that you can achieve them and see if you have achieved your goals.
72
00:04:33.475 --> 00:04:35.512
But it's important to name them.
73
00:04:35.652 --> 00:04:37.540
So if you name your goals,
74
00:04:37.540 --> 00:04:40.672
they become real and you take ownership of them.
75
00:04:40.972 --> 00:04:45.952
So you are in charge and you need to make sure that you get there.
76
00:04:46.906 --> 00:04:48.654
And as I mentioned before,
77
00:04:48.714 --> 00:04:49.860
it's really critical,
78
00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:54.660
and it's for me to say this because I'm myself a perfectionist.
79
00:04:54.900 --> 00:04:58.060
I know something about that.
80
00:04:58.220 --> 00:05:01.040
But it's really not about achieving perfection.
81
00:05:01.261 --> 00:05:04.940
It's really a matter of becoming better.
82
00:05:09.147 --> 00:05:20.873
Then of course you need to believe in yourself but to believe in yourself is really believing in your ability that you will do the effort and also
83
00:05:20.953 --> 00:05:34.278
in your ability to learn because to become better you need to learn new things step by step and then also very important practice some self-compassion
84
00:05:34.809 --> 00:05:38.687
Self-compassion is a crucial companion on the path to excellence.
85
00:05:39.649 --> 00:05:39.865
Why?
86
00:05:40.548 --> 00:05:49.367
Because if you are always angry with yourself that you have not done this and self-critical and so on and so forth,
87
00:05:49.988 --> 00:05:54.247
it's very difficult to become better.
88
00:05:54.427 --> 00:05:56.747
So practice some self-compassion.
89
00:05:59.516 --> 00:06:02.891
Also be selective with whom you associate.
90
00:06:03.532 --> 00:06:12.691
Be selective about whom you associate with because we tend to raise our standards to reciprocal admiration.
91
00:06:12.971 --> 00:06:17.731
So if I have admiration for somebody and really think,
92
00:06:17.851 --> 00:06:18.153
wow,
93
00:06:18.274 --> 00:06:19.098
that's a guy
94
00:06:19.661 --> 00:06:25.031
I would like to be like him rather than a guy who is an underachiever.
95
00:06:25.253 --> 00:06:26.808
That is also important,
96
00:06:31.265 --> 00:06:33.351
the association with other people.
97
00:06:35.664 --> 00:06:37.091
Last but not least,
98
00:06:37.171 --> 00:06:38.939
but also an important point,
99
00:06:39.100 --> 00:06:40.267
ignore the bullies,
100
00:06:40.508 --> 00:06:46.419
because you always will have people who will be criticizing you for this and that,
101
00:06:46.559 --> 00:06:48.499
and you don't care what people think.
102
00:06:48.960 --> 00:06:51.652
You really have to go your own path,
103
00:06:51.914 --> 00:06:53.039
do what you want,
104
00:06:53.219 --> 00:06:54.628
because if you are happy,
105
00:06:54.668 --> 00:06:56.519
you can make other people happy.
106
00:06:57.923 --> 00:06:59.839
That's the basis line.
1
00:00:01.338 --> 00:00:02.261
Hi everyone,
2
00:00:02.743 --> 00:00:03.806
Malou speaking.
3
00:00:04.549 --> 00:00:06.636
I'm the author of Life's Notebook.
4
00:00:07.737 --> 00:00:09.715
Welcome to the Elevation Grit.
5
00:00:11.257 --> 00:00:13.145
I speak about career,
6
00:00:13.949 --> 00:00:15.696
science and well-being.
7
00:00:16.536 --> 00:00:16.698
Okay,
8
00:00:16.698 --> 00:00:17.386
enough.
9
00:00:17.649 --> 00:00:18.154
Let's talk.
10
00:00:22.019 --> 00:00:25.016
Today we're talking about personal excellence.
11
00:00:25.416 --> 00:00:29.676
What is personal excellence to start with and why is it important?
12
00:00:30.765 --> 00:00:35.024
Personal excellence or the quest for excellence is an inner drive,
13
00:00:35.344 --> 00:00:39.924
an unwavering commitment to realize your full potential,
14
00:00:40.645 --> 00:00:42.384
irrespective in which area.
15
00:00:42.564 --> 00:00:48.024
There are some people who want to be best in their personal life,
16
00:00:48.224 --> 00:00:54.264
others prefer professional life or climate change or God knows what.
17
00:00:54.895 --> 00:01:01.972
So everyone has his own definition of where he wants to realize his full potential.
18
00:01:04.995 --> 00:01:06.722
What is excellence?
19
00:01:06.863 --> 00:01:09.052
It's really a lifelong process.
20
00:01:09.612 --> 00:01:14.852
It's an ongoing journey of self-discovery and self-improvement.
21
00:01:16.261 --> 00:01:20.400
Excellence is not a destination which you reach right now.
22
00:01:20.903 --> 00:01:22.320
It's a lifelong process.
23
00:01:22.500 --> 00:01:24.980
You are working on it to become better,
24
00:01:25.160 --> 00:01:27.720
to become the best version of yourself,
25
00:01:28.302 --> 00:01:30.880
which doesn't mean that you need to be perfect.
26
00:01:31.622 --> 00:01:32.809
That's impossible,
27
00:01:32.849 --> 00:01:33.452
first of all,
28
00:01:33.533 --> 00:01:34.740
to become perfect.
29
00:01:35.181 --> 00:01:37.820
And you don't need to be perfect in everything.
30
00:01:38.060 --> 00:01:42.700
You need to be perfect in the areas which are meaningful to you.
31
00:01:43.269 --> 00:01:49.484
where you decide that's where I want to be perfect or the best version of myself.
32
00:01:49.684 --> 00:01:52.316
Because you are the comparison,
33
00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:54.064
not the other people.
34
00:01:54.204 --> 00:01:59.704
You compare yourself to yourself and you want to be a better version of yourself.
35
00:02:00.591 --> 00:02:02.104
That's the objective here.
36
00:02:07.287 --> 00:02:14.864
And this excellence is accessible to anyone who has the will and the determination,
37
00:02:15.586 --> 00:02:21.284
the persistence in their pursuit to become the best version of themselves.
38
00:02:22.285 --> 00:02:25.354
It's a prerequisite really for happy,
39
00:02:25.835 --> 00:02:28.944
successful people who live a fulfilling life.
40
00:02:30.601 --> 00:02:31.464
Because you see,
41
00:02:32.908 --> 00:02:35.316
people who achieve personal excellence,
42
00:02:35.937 --> 00:02:37.806
they live productive lives,
43
00:02:38.047 --> 00:02:39.876
they have healthy relationships,
44
00:02:40.597 --> 00:02:43.236
they have a sense of inner satisfaction.
45
00:02:44.296 --> 00:02:48.136
This all is very important to be happy with yourself.
46
00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:52.715
So now you will ask me,
47
00:02:53.892 --> 00:02:58.168
what do you need to be actually excellent?
48
00:02:58.508 --> 00:03:02.588
Or what are the steps to follow to become excellent?
49
00:03:03.309 --> 00:03:04.132
First of all,
50
00:03:04.514 --> 00:03:06.140
you need to know yourself,
51
00:03:06.301 --> 00:03:07.224
your strengths,
52
00:03:07.325 --> 00:03:08.208
your weaknesses.
53
00:03:08.528 --> 00:03:10.628
And you can only build on your strengths.
54
00:03:11.288 --> 00:03:14.888
Weaknesses are important and you should acknowledge them.
55
00:03:15.356 --> 00:03:15.846
But really...
56
00:03:16.859 --> 00:03:25.356
Take care of your strengths and that's really what interests you in life and that's what you should be focusing on.
57
00:03:28.269 --> 00:03:32.764
That brings us to the fact that the search for excellence is focus,
58
00:03:32.885 --> 00:03:33.426
focus,
59
00:03:33.527 --> 00:03:33.888
focus.
60
00:03:34.488 --> 00:03:38.808
So don't get distracted by things which are not in your best interest,
61
00:03:39.068 --> 00:03:43.808
which are not according to your goals you want to realize in your life.
62
00:03:44.288 --> 00:03:45.447
Don't get distracted.
63
00:03:46.108 --> 00:03:49.148
And also you have to put up with some pain.
64
00:03:49.368 --> 00:03:54.208
There is no glory without pain because it's not easy to become better.
65
00:03:55.241 --> 00:03:59.096
So you have to establish a path to excellence,
66
00:03:59.698 --> 00:04:04.256
and that is by setting some realistic but ambitious goal.
67
00:04:04.496 --> 00:04:06.036
You need the sky as a limit,
68
00:04:06.276 --> 00:04:18.876
but you still need to be realistic to some extent because otherwise you will be kind of frustrated at the end if you cannot reach it.
69
00:04:21.296 --> 00:04:25.210
Some ambitious measures also need to be measurable,
70
00:04:25.270 --> 00:04:25.732
obviously,
71
00:04:26.793 --> 00:04:32.352
so that you can achieve them and see if you have achieved your goals.
72
00:04:33.475 --> 00:04:35.512
But it's important to name them.
73
00:04:35.652 --> 00:04:37.540
So if you name your goals,
74
00:04:37.540 --> 00:04:40.672
they become real and you take ownership of them.
75
00:04:40.972 --> 00:04:45.952
So you are in charge and you need to make sure that you get there.
76
00:04:46.906 --> 00:04:48.654
And as I mentioned before,
77
00:04:48.714 --> 00:04:49.860
it's really critical,
78
00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:54.660
and it's for me to say this because I'm myself a perfectionist.
79
00:04:54.900 --> 00:04:58.060
I know something about that.
80
00:04:58.220 --> 00:05:01.040
But it's really not about achieving perfection.
81
00:05:01.261 --> 00:05:04.940
It's really a matter of becoming better.
82
00:05:09.147 --> 00:05:20.873
Then of course you need to believe in yourself but to believe in yourself is really believing in your ability that you will do the effort and also
83
00:05:20.953 --> 00:05:34.278
in your ability to learn because to become better you need to learn new things step by step and then also very important practice some self-compassion
84
00:05:34.809 --> 00:05:38.687
Self-compassion is a crucial companion on the path to excellence.
85
00:05:39.649 --> 00:05:39.865
Why?
86
00:05:40.548 --> 00:05:49.367
Because if you are always angry with yourself that you have not done this and self-critical and so on and so forth,
87
00:05:49.988 --> 00:05:54.247
it's very difficult to become better.
88
00:05:54.427 --> 00:05:56.747
So practice some self-compassion.
89
00:05:59.516 --> 00:06:02.891
Also be selective with whom you associate.
90
00:06:03.532 --> 00:06:12.691
Be selective about whom you associate with because we tend to raise our standards to reciprocal admiration.
91
00:06:12.971 --> 00:06:17.731
So if I have admiration for somebody and really think,
92
00:06:17.851 --> 00:06:18.153
wow,
93
00:06:18.274 --> 00:06:19.098
that's a guy
94
00:06:19.661 --> 00:06:25.031
I would like to be like him rather than a guy who is an underachiever.
95
00:06:25.253 --> 00:06:26.808
That is also important,
96
00:06:31.265 --> 00:06:33.351
the association with other people.
97
00:06:35.664 --> 00:06:37.091
Last but not least,
98
00:06:37.171 --> 00:06:38.939
but also an important point,
99
00:06:39.100 --> 00:06:40.267
ignore the bullies,
100
00:06:40.508 --> 00:06:46.419
because you always will have people who will be criticizing you for this and that,
101
00:06:46.559 --> 00:06:48.499
and you don't care what people think.
102
00:06:48.960 --> 00:06:51.652
You really have to go your own path,
103
00:06:51.914 --> 00:06:53.039
do what you want,
104
00:06:53.219 --> 00:06:54.628
because if you are happy,
105
00:06:54.668 --> 00:06:56.519
you can make other people happy.
106
00:06:57.923 --> 00:06:59.839
That's the basis line.
