This article was rejected from publishing in my college paper last year but I really liked it and the only editor working here at Margin2Margin is me....so here it is.
Learning to Be Content With Mediocrity
I don’t excel at anything. I mean it, there is not one thing I can do that I don’t know at least 10 other people that can do it better. It’s taken me 21 (now 23) years to accept this, for many of you it will take much longer. Why do I say this? Because as I have become enlightened to this fact I’ve realized how liberating it is to say to myself “I am mediocre.”
Think about it, throughout our lives, from getting picked at kickball in grade school, to the prom in high school, to even getting picked for that first job out of college most of us weren’t and won’t be first round draft picks. The reason I point this is out is because I think we need to stop killing ourselves trying to be number 1. I’m not suggesting that we should give up any aspirations we have, hit the couch and crack a few cold ones and feel sorry for ourselves, though I would suggest that we all do need to do that from time to time. I’m simply saying that we need to be more aware of our own talents and limitations in order to put them to use in a way that will best yield reasonable accomplishments.
I’m not saying this out of jealousy or spite, because while I’ve accepted that I don’t really have that niche or the one thing that I’m great at, I’ve also come to the conclusion that I’m decent or "okay" at just about everything. Decent isn't an innapropriate word to use to describe my performance in a number of different areas in which we are often assessed in relation to others. I'm decent at many sports, games, and may even give myself the credit to claim I’m an okay writer. But I’ve poured so much time and energy into the myth that I will one-day rise above all others as being the “best” at something when I could’ve been spending the same energy enjoying producing, playing, or creating within the realm of my own talents.
The myth that we can all be the best is detrimental to us. Many of us recall at least one voice from the past, whether it be a coach, parent, or teacher that tried to push us beyond our realistic capabilities. For those of us who failed to become the star athlete or the valedictorian we felt our self-worth a little shortchanged. I remember feeling a lot of pressure from coaches to stick out as the best player. Such pressure often pitted my fellow teammates and I against each other and hindered our potential as a team as we would focus our potential as individuals not as a solidary unit.
But why shouldn’t we buy into the myth, and can we really avoid it? The American notion of competition clouds all areas of our culture. We demand that everyone be the best, and look down upon those who are not, minimizing their accomplishments and reducing the likelihood that they will feel confident within the realm of their own capabilities. Our culture operates on our notions of self-contempt. Without feeling that we can improve ourselves in nearly every area we wouldn’t be so compelled to buy buy buy! Clearly this is a flawed mentality; we cannot all be the best at everything. But where’s the glamour in being one of the faceless masses? In such a context I suppose there isn’t much. However, striving to achieve in more limited circles will yield much better results.
Remember when we thought our dad was the best at everything and would brag about them to our friends gloating of how great they were at a particular thing? The same world can exist for you within your circle of friends. Though no one may be banging down your door to sign you up for their NBA team, you may have certain friends that, if their life depended on making a jump shot, would have you take it for them.
I should point out that there are those select few, (I’m sure we all know at least one of them) who appear to the best at everything. I no longer desire such an image. Once you become the best at something you need to spend timeless effort in maintaining that position. But just as our dads most likely are no longer the best football player, basketball player, guitar player, etc. in our eyes, all too is fleeting for those who do achieve to such a level and eventually they will join the rest of us in the abyss of mediocrity.
