The exception DOES NOT prove the rule

Becoming Exceptional in a flat world

A popular proverb

says: the exception proves the rule.

An effective way to remain average and never express authenticity and excellence.

If we dropped a ball

and this, instead of falling to the ground, shot up to the sky, do

you really think scientists would

shrug and say: “this is simply the exception

that proves the rule!”?

Until 1954 athletes

believed that running one mile in less than 4 minutes

was impossible. Nobody did it, so everyone thought

the human limit had been reached.

No Exception

Image  courtesy  of:  Sura  Nualpradid  freedigitalphotos.net  

Then Roger Bannister showed

up. In 1954 he went down in

history running the mile in 3’59’’4. He had just become

the exception that DENIED the rule.

6 weeks later an Australian

runner beat his record. A year later, twenty more

athletes managed to run the mile under 4 minutes. Today, good high-school athletes manage to stay

under 4 minutes. Runners simply saw that the

exception was the new rule. The old rule had

become an undesirable exception.

Artists that wow us,

writers that make us dream,

entrepreneurs working hard on something they

deeply believe in, volunteers that help those in need are all

exceptions. Who made the Exception

a rule of life.

We do not need to be exceptional in everything, and we do not need to be different just for the sake of it. Being authentic, though, means being an exception– it means expressing our uniqueness in a world that risks to be flat.

Sometimes we do something exceptional and we treat it like an exception.

“I got lucky”, “I didn’t expect to make it!”, “I’m surprised with myself!”, “It will never happen again!”.

The rule, according to many of us, is that we need

to stay average and avoid expressing our true potential.

Many unexpressed artists. A real shame.

One day Erik Weihenmayer went into a restaurant to ask for a job as a kitchen hand. “You’ll never make it boy,” answered the restaurant owner “go home and let someone take care of you.” That was the rule. Erik did not follow it, climbed all the highest peaks in each continent and reached the top of Mount Everest. Oh, I almost forgot…

•  …. Erik is blind.

So stop treating your dreams, you life projects and your challenges as exceptions. He has a great job…he knew people He opened a company …. He was lucky She is a successful designer…. She has talent and I don’t. She wrote a book… I don’t have time for it. If the average is your rule, you will not have the change to express your full potential.

 

If you see someone doing something exceptional, something you would like to do, don’t treat it as an exception. Do as any good artist would do.

Imitate her.

Imitate excellent behaviours to become an exception. So that your personal rule is to give all you’ve got in something you believe in and to

be authentic.

Every dream, challenge, life project of great value need, to be reached, “exceptional” actions.

1.  Think about your project. 2.  Find exceptional behaviours you need.

3.  Turn them into habits. 4.  Make the exception a rule to live by.

Reaching great goals and being excellent

is not matter of “winning that competition” once.

Excellence is a habit.

It is a rule of life we follow every single day. We can be artist. Or we can follow the rule that

makes us bury our authenticity.

The choice is yours.

Have a nice trip

 Lorenzo Paoli

Coaching for Highly Performing Habits

Excellence is a habit.  

www.novaxia .it lpaoli@novaxia.it

Milan office - Tel.+39 02 87343236 Pesaro office - Tel. +39 0721 1790232