You can live a superlative life. Why be average (whatever that means or how it is defined)? Surely mediocre is not something to be pursued? Then again, remember that ‘extra’ and ‘super’ are defined individually as well. Superlative basically means reaching for or stretching yourself for that which is just beyond your finger tips. Yes it is a striving. And yes, it is competitive but the focus, actor, and definer is yourself. Striving in this context is not necessarily stressful nor painful but it isn’t a walk in the park either. It means setting the goal so that you don’t achieve success quickly. And your competitor? Your previous successes.
The ‘get by’, ‘get along’ mindset is really not one to cultivate. This truly would be a way to be tossed by every wind that comes by. I would think it would be quite confusing because in this approach, you really don’t have your own set of standards to live by. Soooo… what are you? Why would you want to be average or ‘ordinary’? Does fear of failure, of not attaining ‘extraordinary’ stop you from trying? Or… perhaps you are listening to the voices of those who don’t realize your potential? People who would rather see you as compromising to be ‘average’ so they don’t have to raise their own standard.
Never forget that if you try for extraordinary and don’t make it, where you arrive is going to be definitely higher than ‘ordinary’. Don’t misunderstand, ‘ordinary’ isn’t ‘bad’ unless it’s less than what you are capable of accomplishing. Even in a limiting situation you are in control of what you learn, what you discover, how you refine what you do and how you can do it. Others can attempt to limit you but only you can decide to accept that limitation.
In the last analysis, you are the only one who can determine if your effort is extraordinary or not because you are the definer of the word. But extraordinary is something that is exhilarating when you do attain it. It is a defining moment.
…but, what do you think?
