When Israel Adesanya faced Alex Pereira in a recent UFC fight it wasn’t the first time these fighters had met.
Pereira had twice defeated Adesanya in kickboxing and then followed him to the MMA octagon where he won yet again.
But their fourth meeting went differently.
This time, the underdog Adesanya—to the surprise of numerous naysayers—knocked out Pereira in the second round to claim the middleweight UFC title.
Adesanya’s remarks from the ring after this match weren’t the typical chest-thumping bravado one might expect.
Instead he voiced a sincere wish that everyone might experience a similar level of happiness like his just once in their lives.
And he reminded them that they would never experience that level of happiness if they weren’t willing to go for something in their own lives that required supreme effort.
Paul Rosenberg explains the path to excellence in this way:
“It’s hard to do. You’ll have to work and suffer and persist. You’ll have to overcome obstacles, and maybe many of them. There will always be an alternative that looks easier. That will lead you away from excellence, not toward it.”
That’s advice that not everyone is willing to follow.
When we choose to cultivate an expectation of excellence, we set the stage for a habit of excellence.
It’s not about making ourselves look good.
It’s about putting the time and effort into doing hard things and learning to do them well.
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