Extraordinary in the Ordinary

Throughout much of my life, I have talked up the concept of ‘excellence’; I have spoken about the benefits of leaving ‘mediocrity’ in our wake; I have bemoaned the widespread philosophy of ‘good enough to get by’ … but in doing so I have on occasion been misunderstood. So allow me to clear something up …

If we learn to look and learn to see, we can find the extraordinary in the ordinary. It is possible to find the extraordinary beauty in the day-to-day aspects of our lives; we don’t need to climb Everest to bathe in the amazing. Extraordinary acts can be simple things, small things that might even go unnoticed by most. Offering a coffee to the mailman-woman - a small extra-ordinary act that might turn their day around; going for a walk with someone and offering advice with no thought of recompense; being mindful whilst undertaking an activity that we usually pay little or no attention to; fasting for a day or two and then really tasting a meal that we carefully prepare for ourselves; etc.

You don’t have to be wealthy to experience the extraordinary; you don’t have to climb a mountain to experience the extraordinary; you don’t have to win a gold medal, buy a new house, or deadlift 300kgs … the extraordinary can be hidden from ordinary view, but it can surround us at every turn … secreted behind the thin veneer of ordinary, day-to-day life. Lift the curtain today. Be extraordinary.

• JBW