“Do not suppose that, if you find something hard to achieve, it is beyond human capacity; rather, if something is possible and appropriate for man, assume that it must also be within your own reach.” -Marcus Aurelius

One of humanity’s more unifying qualities is the following: we enjoy watching talent on display. One needn’t look any further than the inclination to share an impressive video or to pick up the phone and vote for your Idol favorite (did I just time travel or did you?). Appealing to our lesser selves, this fundamentally correlates to a desire to be entertained; appealing to our higher selves, this comes from a genuine celebration and appreciation of human capability. It reminds us of what an individual can do, illuminating, even for a moment, what we might be able to do as well. This is why performers of all sorts, from the artistic to the athletic, draw crowds—for a blip in time, we get to bear witness to human capability realized, in a way that invites us into it too. A concept well articulated by author James Carse, at their best, creativity and capability on display engender the same in those who witness. This is the difference between performance done in vain and performance that invites. Excellence invites.

Nothing may underscore this quite as well as the feats that take place at the Olympics. American 400-meter hurdler Dalilah Muhammad ran 1.5 seconds faster in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics where she won Silver, than in 2016’s Rio Olympics where she won Gold. (Bears noting that her Tokyo performance set for herself a new personal best. Go Dalilah.) What this reveals for us is this: we don’t always do as well as we can, but as well as we have to.