Break the Chains of Mediocrity
I believe the degradation of any person, group, or society is a direct result of allowing mediocrity to take control of our hearts and minds. But I ask: can I be excellent at everything I attempt to do? Everything I attempt to master? Of course not; that would be impossible, and there are times when I have to admit when I’m mediocre at something. But I don’t have to like it, and like soggy, runny oatmeal, I’ll never acquire a taste for it. And you shouldn’t either!
Looking back on my life, I’m amazed that I can recall dozens of instances where outside influences attempted to (and were in some cases successful at) derailing my innate love of being excellent. Who knew, right? I was born with a type of autopilot that strives for excellence, and so were you! It’s only at the hands of these outside influences that we don’t achieve our highest potential.
I have a memory from the age of five. I was playing T-ball and could hit the ball further than most, and I ran like the devil was chasing me. These are great skills to have, but I was asked to slow down so as to not make the other children feel bad about themselves, or not to hit the ball so hard because I might hurt the other children. Instead of encouraging and feeding my pursuit for excellence, they put a damper on it. At the age of five, I didn’t know better, so when I was paying attention (not an easy thing for a five-year-old), I remember myself slowing down and trying not to hit the ball quite as hard as I could.
Another memory from when I was serving in the US Army comes to mind. We were doing some mundane task of moving equipment from one place to another. My goal was to move the equipment as fast as I could, and I would run between locations. That’s when it happened: another soldier and his friends joked at me to slow down, I was “making them look bad.” It happened again! I have more stories that I won’t bore you with now, but I will give you one example about a character in a book that stands out as having outside influences attempt to derail her quest for excellence. The book is Harry Potter and the character is Miss Hermione Granger.
If you are not familiar with the story, this young lady had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of all things magic and could recall the information with ease. As such, she attempted to answer almost every question her teachers would ask and went so far as to correct her peers and a few teachers as well. For her efforts, she was often met with ridicule, harsh comments, and name-calling. She was called a know-it-all and had she been of weaker mind, Harry and company would never have been able to have any success!
Examine your own lives. I’m certain you have had scenarios like these happen to you or have seen it happening all around you. What most of us are not mindful of is that when we allow it to happen we are hurting ourselves, others around us, and society as a whole. Being the best version of yourself is what causes others to be inspired to be the best versions of themselves. Forget not wanting to hurt others feelings; that’s an issue those people have with their own inadequacy. Forget making others look bad; that’s an issue those people have with their own incompetence. I beg everyone to find your own intestinal fortitude and fight against mediocrity. It’s what makes humankind great!