Achieving Excellence through Incremental Improvements

The hard grind starts after the ‘Eureka’ moment

We are often guilty of mistaking our ‘Eureka’ moment for the achievement of excellence.

One of the oldest and most well-known tales about scientific discoveries is about Archimedes’ legendary “Eureka!” moment. While taking a bath in a tub, he made a remarkable discovery, and he immediately hopped out of the bath and ran onto the streets to tell the King, shouting loudly ‘Eureka! Eureka!’ (I have found it! I have found it!), in delight.

In Archimedes’ case, he had found a solution. A solution to a very important challenge posed to him by the King!

In our cases though, we often believe that a momentary burst of inspiration or a seemingly revolutionary idea is our ‘Eureka’ moment.

Far from it.

In my opinion, the hard grind starts when our ‘Eureka’ moment ends. Turning our brilliant ideas into meaningful accomplishments is often a result of persistence and a continuous pursuit of incremental improvements.

An anonymous attribution by author Carol S. Dweck in her book “Mindset” is profound and very relevant:

“Becoming is better than being”

This idea suggests that achievement of excellence is only possible through a journey of constant improvement. The satisfaction of growth that is realised through the process is more valuable than the comfort of a static state of achievement.

Excellence is a journey, not a destination.

Glowing testaments to this idea can be found in every sphere of life — in business, sport, technology, and in our day-to-day personal lives.

The iPhone hailed as a revolutionary device, was a culmination of years of iterative design — sparked by an idea, refined through collaboration, and realised through years of persistent effort by focused teams of specialists.

Spoiler — The idea wasn’t from who we think it is!

In sports, no matter which — champion-level performances are built on the foundation of small, consistent improvements.

In life, trusting in the process and investing in our habits is important to gradually progress towards the excellence we desire.

In conclusion, embracing a growth mindset, learning from the experiences of others, and understanding the power of small changes is absolutely important to achieve excellence.

It is seldom ‘Eureka’ all the way!

Vivian Robert, Ph.D. | Rarely Mainstream