adamchalmers on Nostr: Mediocrity is insidious. It sneaks up on you slowly and infiltrates your ...

Mediocrity is insidious. It sneaks up on you slowly and infiltrates your consciousness. Much as small amounts of poison built up subtly in the blood over time are not noticeable, so mediocrity builds into your character and you may not notice its effects until it’s too late. There is an antidote to the poison that grips so many, and it is the only one that has any lasting effect. The antidote is excellence.

Life is always pushing against you, rubbing you up the wrong way, challenging you. It can get to be so overwhelming at times that the temptation not to stand against it becomes very strong. Ease is a desirable state to crave and the harder life seems the more attractive it is. The mistake you can make is to equate average with enjoyment, as if by being mediocre your life will be better. This common misconception that by not trying, life becomes more enjoyable, is perpetuated by more people than you’d care to admit.

Some people espouse this ethos of mediocre living with evangelical zeal. According to them life is about taking the easy way out, just doing enough, and always chasing the good times. The fruit of such a philosophy is evident to everyone around them, except themselves. They are degrading into less of an inspiration with each year that goes by, yet remain convinced they are winning in life. Such is the nature of man, it is easier to see the results of mediocrity in others than it is in yourself. 

If you consider society at large you can see the poison of mediocre thought and action seeping its way into civilisation. Corners are cut, shortcuts taken, and challenges avoided. Socialist governments encourage this as mediocre people are dependent on them for support and this offers the excuse needed to print money and take control. Welfare is more commonly used to support people living mediocre lives than it is used to help those desperately in need.

When you live in mediocrity you will seek out activities that help you accept your own lack of purpose and drive. The poison that is eroding your desire for excellence will push you to numb yourself with things that help you feel good in the short term. Symptoms of the poison include the desire to feel less; escape pain, avoid struggle and remove risk. To achieve without work, have thoughts without thinking, and live without meaning. If you are experiencing these symptoms consider that you may have lapsed into mediocrity.

There is a way out. It is difficult, and there are no shortcuts. You must look with clarity at your life, with brutal honesty at each component of what makes up your character. Your thoughts, feelings, health, relationships, work, and finances. Where are you allowing mediocrity to seep in and poison yourself? If you can identify it and acknowledge that you alone are responsible for allowing the average to become the norm, then you can reverse the effects and begin striving for excellence.

The pursuit of excellence has the opposite effect on your life. It will also infiltrate your consciousness and shape your character but in a totally different way. Its effects are powerful and revolutionary on the way you think, act and behave. It will positively improve your thoughts, feelings, health, relationships, work, and finances because in each of these areas you will be embracing pain, struggle, challenge and risk. You will know that these are the instruments of your perfection and only through the refining of yourself in the crucible of life can the poison of mediocrity be flushed from your system. There is no other way.

Look around you at the life you are creating for yourself. Is it mediocre or is it excellent? Where are you letting yourself off, where is your character falling short, where could you do better?

When you take the easy path you repeatedly swallow the poison of mediocrity, and if left long enough it will kill your drive to life the life you deserve. Stop expecting life to be average, and you will level up accordingly. Make excellence your life ambition and stand against the tide of degradation that is sweeping through our culture like a tsunami. Be the best you can.

#life #personalgrowth #learning #lifelessons #wisdom #excellence