A combination of events got me thinking about excellence. At first I felt, I am not excellent at anything. I tend to be happy with the sufficient. Its the minimalist side of me, why do more when you could do less? I see “more” as equating to stress and I want to avoid the stress-riddled life. Unfortunately, more often results in better. 
When Tom cooks he is mindful of the details of taste and texture. Seeking excellence, he is willing to wait the extra 20 minutes here, do the extra chopping there, he’ll use the fancier ingredients liberally, and follow the recipe exactly. I am usually intent on three things: time efficiency, nutrition, and lost cost. Last night I made an ideal meal: microwaved “baked” potatoes, panseared salmon, and sauteed green beans. The meal took me 20 minutes. It was delicious, and healthy. It was sufficient.If I had my way all my meals would be like that, except for maybe two times a week when cooking was the activity for the day.
I keep my house clean, but not that clean. I excercise but not as often as I’d like. I’m a good wife and mother but not excellent. (Now please, I’m not begging for compliments here, just expressing the realization that there are areas in my life in which I could- if I choose- improve.) Excellent by what measures you may ask- my own. I know myself well enough to know my own potential, and I know that I’m not living up to it in all areas of my life. But can one? I think not. So after wallowing in my current state of mediocrity for a day, I got stubborn with myself and sought the positive- surely I am excellent at something. I made a short list. It was a good exercise in priorities. Some of the things I have become excellent at, have come at the expense of other attributes in which I would like to excel.
I am an excellent worker- I don’t waste time, but often my constant working gets in the way of my mothering. 
I am an excellent time keeper. Too often this time keeping creates conflict in my marriage. It’s that time keeping that cripples my ability to excel- I too often stop short of achieveing because I don’t want to take the time. 
I had to step back and ask: “Am I putting the necessary time into the things I want to be excellent at?” In many cases I’m not. So, I’m working on it.