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By Meghan Peterson
Excellence: very good of its kind, eminently good, first-class – Merriam-Webster Dictionary
“Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution.” – Aristotle
It is that time of year again. As a parent, I know there is an earnestness with which the phrase “that time of year” seems to persist at all times of the year. But by invoking the “it’s that time of year” chime, I mean specifically during this time when youth programming registration whirls about: spring soccer registration, registration for karate tournaments, registration for registration (Okay, just kidding on that final one…maybe).
In any case, as I sign up my boys for their various endeavors, one word keeps coming to mind: excellence.
Ah, yes: excellence. Because when we enroll our offspring into extracurriculars – whether it is soccer, karate, dance, music, art, you name it – we want them to do and be their best. We want them to excel. We encourage our kids to do well, do their best, and give it their all on the field or on the mat – wherever they go and whatever they do. We desire for them to pursue excellence – to be “eminently good,” to quote the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition.
But before we can begin to contemplate excellence and strive to be “eminently good” at something, we need energy. Our kids need energy. And we as parents need energy to lay the groundwork for energy-driven kids.
In order to give and do your best, you need the energy, the power, the verve to DO it. And if you have the energy to do it, that means filling your life with energy-giving and NOT energy-sucking sources, which in our “modern” lives seem to surround us in the form of the computer screen (as I type this, my eyes are beginning to tire out…) or the phone screen.
With Spring on our doorstep, let’s go outside, let’s look up at the clouds or the moon and the stars. Let’s ride a bike, let’s play hopscotch, let’s bring these energy-giving practices back! Let’s actually do the things rather than resort to “Oh, there is an app for that!” Then, and only then, can we be eminently good at what we do and so can our kids. Because we feel refreshed, so do our children.
Excellence is much more difficult to pursue when one hand is on a remote and one eyeball is on the phone screen. Hint: the TikTok reel can wait; a nifty wheelie your kid just did on the bike will never be repeated in the way he did it in that exact moment.
Spring has sprung. Let’s be excellent!
