"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Phil 4:8) "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." (Prov 23:7) Our world originated from the mind. Everything we have today are the products of the mind. Every great invention, great achievement, amazing technological feat, design and creation, and even the bad ones were all products of the mind. The mind is built to initiate things through imagination. It is created to be able to conjure possibilities based on the realities around it. It has the ability to accept premises from the possibilities available and infer other possibilities which are not yet in existence. The mind does this through a complex process that involves memory searching, fantasizing, projecting, etc - simply referred to as THINKING! Thinking is the only way through which the mind can maximize its potential. Everything the mind will ever come up with is going to be done through thinking. While thinking the mind can run scenarios, predicts results, ascertain the certainty of variables and decide what is the optimal approach or position. Little wonder, the Bible says that we are not far removed from our thoughts. What goes on in our minds determines what we say, what we do, and ultimately who we are. Our real personality is in our mind. Our character, emotions, beliefs, attitudes, etc are all coupled up somewhere in our mind. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. So, like Facebook will always say, "What is on your mind?".
If we want to be people of excellence, we must think excellence. The Apostle Paul while writing to the Phillipian church listed the characteristics of excellence: true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, worthy of praise. That is what excellence is all about. And we are asked, not to pursue such things, but to think on them. We are required and commanded to dwell on them, to fill our mind with such thoughts. We are asked to think excellence, because that is the only way we can ever become excellent.