The Wheel of Excellence

What are the critical components of personal excellence?

Can we summarise the essence of excellence?

Terry Orlick has studied these questions in details to give us the basic elements of excellence which will allow us to excel or become the best we can possibly be in our chosen pursuits.

He describes these parts as part of a wheel of excellence, a puzzle of 7 interconnected pieces that applies to every sport and performance pursuit with focus as the hub.

Orlick says that the heart of human excellence boils down to two elements: commitment and belief.

Without these two elements then we have no perspective or orientation towards excellence so these are crucial because they shape the way we view ourselves, our capacity and our desire to become our best.

Your commitment or passion for your pursuit, your willingness to work hard and persist in the face of challenges and obstacles, and the extent to which you grow to believe in yourself and what you are doing are critical components of excellence.

Orlick lists other five elements of excellence as: Full Focus, Positive Images, Mental Readiness, Distraction Control, and Constructive Evaluation.

These are the mental skills that channel commitment and belief into a series of positive actions.

For a more in-depth discussion of the seven elements of excellence then see here.