Excellence

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For the magazine, see Excellence (magazine).

Excellence is the state or quality of excelling. It is superiority, or the state of being good to a high degree. Excellence is considered to be a value by many organizations, in particular by schools and other institutions of education^{[#endnote_USDE]}, and a goal to be pursued.

However, according to Keathley^{[#endnote_Keathley]}, the pursuit of excellence is "not to be a quest for superiority", and is not about "competition" or about "outstripping others", which is "usually done for one's own glory or significance or for the praise or applause of men". Instead, he quotes Harbour distinguishing between success and excellence, saying that "Success means being the best. Excellence means being your best. Success, to many, means being better than everyone else. Excellence means being better tomorrow than you were yesterday. Success means exceeding the achievements of other people. Excellence means matching your practice with your potential."

Keathley also asserts that the pursuit of excellence "should not be limited by the nature of the task" (i.e. that one should pursue excellence no matter how humble or menial one considers the task to be) and "works against a half-hearted, drift along or go-with-the-flow kind of mentality".

Kamali^{[#endnote_Kamali]} agrees, citing Muhammad in a hadith saying that "God loves it when a worker undertakes a work and he does it to perfection." Kamali states that thus "Perfection is manifest in artistic beauty and in human endeavour that seeks to achieve excellence. The pursuit of excellence is highly recommended at all times and places, be it in the home, in the neighbourhood or the mosque; indeed everywhere."

Excellence

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See also