I have never believed in accepting mediocrity instead believing in goal setting and striving to be the best. Obviously, that belief comes with its own downsides. I used to believe I needed to be the best in the world and, if I wasn’t then I would quit. Now I believe in striving to the best for the world, trying to make our planet a little better and enjoying the journey along the way. Once I released my need to control everything and let go of perfection, life is now easier. I still think it is great to set some realistic goals and challenge yourself a little. We are amazing with what we can achieve. And we can only do our absolute best on any one day. Some days, you aren’t going to feel like or be capable of climbing that elusive mountain.
Then there is the whole ‘imposter syndrome’ thing. I had never heard of this until I met two of the world’s most incredible people. One is a former rock star turned music producer and sound engineer who explained the feeling of not being worthy of greatness and success. The other is Australia’s answer to Adele. This singer/songwriter deserves as many accolades as we can heap upon her. She is that good. Yet she has struggled for years with the feeling of not being good enough. She embodies the exact opposite of mediocrity. So, if you are incredibly talented at whatever you have chosen to shine at, know you are exquisitely excellent and share your gift confidently, excitedly and enthusiastically with the world. Never fear greatness as you are definitely worthy.
Perhaps it is the ‘tall poppy syndrome’ kicking in. It is so much easier to criticise someone who has stood up to make a difference. Current times and technologies have made it very convenient to comment and destroy. It is less painful to keep head down and be average. Yet if everyone thought that way, if no one was prepared to try towards greatness and be a little different, risking public condemnation, our species may have never left the caves. We should be very grateful to the trailblazers who have travelled, failed and then succeeded before us. Those people, bless them, didn’t leave for fear of failure. They didn’t wait for or need other people to tell them they were okay. They were driven by an inner life force, their mojo. They knew it was okay to try and got in and gave life a go.
I have worked in large corporate for many years. Lots of people are employed and there appears to be a general air of low expectations swirling around. Perhaps everyone’s expectations are kept nice and low so no one is disappointed. The result of accepting such mediocre outcomes is that it is super easy to achieve these. Corporates appear to pay well and I have been guilty of trying valiantly to keep delivering sub-optimal outcomes with my mouth firmly closed shut to avoid standing out and rocking the Titanic. That way, I upset no one and receive the generous monthly income. It doesn’t seem to take very long though before the mediocrity, politics and jostling for pole position drives me nuts. I am sure it is simply basic physics 101 – when I see injustice occurring and hear drivel, steam starts to build up in my brain. I then open my mouth to alleviate pressure build up and chaos ensues.
If you aim for mediocrity, you may just achieve it. Better to aim for the stars, miss and hit the moon.
Don’t Accept Mediocrity from Self or Others.