Why Accolades, Approval & Praise Does Not Always Connote Excellence

 

On one beautiful Sunday morning, I heard the sound of music oozing out from a Church very close to my domicile. Behind the sound of the music, was the voice of a little lad. Though the music seemed croacky and not very coordinated, each strike of ‘Ebenezer’ sounded forced and coerced, the air was filled with applause for the little lad.

Then in a nick of time, something gleamed my spirit, and a solemn realization behoved my soul “accolades stem from the perception people have about a thing, process or a person”.

While this little lad may have not sang very excellently, people applauded him because of the perception phenomenon.

As a child, he had done well, though his singing was unprofessional. Compared to his peers, the boldness, charisma or willingness to stand before a crowd to minister or sing a song was commendable.

If an adult had ministered the song the way the lad did, probably, the situation would have been riddled with ridicule and mockery.

Now hear this, that you might learn a thing; when you do something good, that, from your own perception seemed good and worthy of praise or accolades, but was met with strict or solemn disapproval, shame, disdain, ridicule, and mockery. It is because of the standard by which people have judged your action.

What connotes and determines excellence of any given process or thing, is the standard against which it is predetermined. Therefore, your current performance though, good by your perception, might have been a shadow of your previous performances. So when people who have seen you perform before, measure the latter against the formal, it was incomparable, or probably, a shadow of what they know about you. Hence, the reason for the bad air.

Listen. Approvals and accolades measure excellence based on any set standard or previous perception and does not really mean what is being praised is beyond normal or too excellent. When you are armed with this knowledge, you will not be discouraged when people do not approve of your good deeds. Setting Christ as the standard, base, author and foundation of all your good deeds and the desire for virtues and unrelented and unprecedented good reasons and judgements that you have set in your mind, you would not now relent and throw in the towel because of sheer human disapproval of your good actions. There is one who rewards, and He is coming with His rewards for every actions of men wether good or bad.

So be strong and when people don’t give you accolades, praise or approval, don’t relent. Keep pushing harder. When the level of excellence you delivered eventually surpasses the set standard or perception that people have about that process in their minds or subconscious, the accolades would eventually resonate.

Peace. Stay blessed.

#motivation #sunnypraiseadogamotivations #inspiration