Mediocrtiy is so second rate

I see and experience mediocrity all around me, every day.  Mediocrity upsets me.  Sometimes I am the one being mediocre and that annoys me even more. 

We have come to celebrate average.  Our education system encourages mediocrity to shine.  As employers we accept mediocre as good enough and often reward it.  We tolerate mediocre service almost everywhere we go, and often pay for it. 

It’s a problem and it has to change.  Mediocrity no longer has a place in my life.  Mediocre has no business in my business.  Not anymore.  I commit to excellence.  

What is acceptable performance?

If you’re at school or university, it’s around 50% (and in some cases lower than that).  But is 50% really good enough though?  As an experiment, let me spell words 50% cprteck ams swr id ypi csm stokl fiklpq wjay I’n weitumg (correct and see if you can still follow what I’m writing).  50% doesn’t work, does it?

Now imagine we do everything at about 50%.

What if a pilot gets 50% of his landings right? (He’ll have a very, very short career)

What if the payroll department paid your salary 50% of the time?
What if your builder builds 50% of your walls to specification?

You get the picture. 50% is nowhere near good enough.  Neither is 60% or 70% or 80%.  We have to aim higher, much higher.

We get excited about a goal or a project and we start with passion.  Soon enough we see the passion fizzle out into another blob of mediocrity.  What happens?  What cause us to behave that way? 

Maybe because mediocrity finds a safe haven in our comfort zones. 

Maybe because mediocrity requires little effort. 
Maybe because mediocrity doesn’t require much self-motivation.
Maybe we set the bar too low.

“People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents” - Andrew Carnegie

… no matter how impressive their other talents.

This is such a powerful statement that it warrants repeating.  Talent alone is not going to save us from the insidious custom that is mediocrity.  We have to set higher standards for ourselves and keep motivating ourselves to reach them.

Nobody wants their tombstone to read: "Here lies Joe Soap, a mediocre person, a mediocre colleague, a mediocre supporter, a mediocre husband, a mediocre parent, a mediocre friend ...” Without a positive attitude towards achieving excellence, and self-motivation, chances are that we will end up with a legacy of being mediocre. 

Aristotle said: “We are what we do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” 

Ask yourself where mediocre is celebrated in your life.  Ask yourself what you are prepared to change and commit to the change. 

It takes time and effort to establish a new habit, and it is well worth your trouble.  If we commit to excellence and practice excellence, the habit of excellence will be formed.