E is for Exceptional

Are you exceptional at anything? Do you know anyone who is? It’s really cool, isn’t it? Now, when I say exceptional, I’m not talking about a twelve year-old prodigy who wins Jeopardy for three straight years, never breaking a mental sweat. I’m also not talking about becoming Mr. Universe or Bill Gates or Oprah. While all those people are indeed exceptional, there are other ways.

Maybe you are a mom or a dad, and feel your job at home is done in sort of a blasé, rote, normal fashion. You would not be the exceptional parent, you would simply be a provider who tries to keep the kids alive and, preferably, quiet. An exceptional parent works a hard job and then takes time to read to their kid before bed, fix a good breakfast and then take them to the park on Saturday to play with RC toys. Being exceptional is simply going a tad above and beyond what is minimally expected. Sounds easy, eh?

Maybe you are a writer, and you think research is pretty difficult and also, all those pesky grammar rules get you down, so you just write what you want and then show people that junk. You, sir or ma’am, are not an exceptional writer. Even if you do that sort of writing all day, every day, you are still not exceptional. A writer who takes the time to fact, grammar and spell check, edit the hell out of their work and do everything in their power to ensure an enjoyable read are exceptional.

Or, maybe you have another talent like singing, dancing, playing an instrument or acting. If this is you, then you know that in order to be considered exceptional, you really have to try hard and stand out, which is not at all an easy thing to do. But, the exceptional people find a way to do it anyhow. The merely “good” ones simply do their job and then fade into the woodwork. Boo.

In my opinion, becoming exceptional is a choice, and one we can all make. No matter what we do, we can almost always try a little harder, put a little more effort in, prepare ourselves better. Try to improve. Letting your talents or your life simply flat-line is going to get you nowhere but Boringville, living on Mediocrity Street. Is that really what you want?

Take chances. Put yourself out there for judgment. Forget about consequences sometimes and just do things. Folks who take the initiative in life are almost always exceptional people. Don’t let life just happen to you; do something about it. Be *you*. After all, you probably won’t get another chance.