Being Mediocre Is Fine. Here’s Why
If you go online and type the word “mediocrity”, you’ll see that mostly it’s given a negative connotation. Millions of advice on how to fight mediocrity, or explanations of why so many of us get stuck in the mediocre level and don’t succeed. This got me thinking: why is it that we always automatically perceive mediocrity as something opposite to success?
How did it happen that this perfectionist mindset took over society, and literally anyone is ready to give you a passionate speech on how to be the best of the best in your craft? Why do we unconsciously run away from being “good enough” and constantly strive to hit higher and higher benchmarks?
Always trying to make whatever we do perfect, the best, and unbeatable has stopped so many from even attempting to do the thing. Why try if the result most likely won’t satisfy our own ridiculously high standards? — we think to ourselves. And there’s more: we expect ourselves to be good at everything we do. Sometimes even at things that we are trying for the first time in our lives!
Like me, when I was 14, learning to ski in the French Alps — I would get so pissed at myself constantly falling in the first several days, it would drive me insane. Now, a decade after, I look at my younger self and ask: what on Earth made you expect that you’ll be an Olympics-level professional from the first day on, dear?
Although I did some work on my perfectionism and this neverending strive to be the best and achieve more, this demon is still present. It clenches its teeth every time I sit down to write another article for Medium. I know I can always write a decent piece, but the possibility of it not hitting the “great” threshold has kept me from making my writing a routine.
Until I’ve read an article of another blogger on Medium, where he, a non-native English speaker and more of a tech guy with no specific talent for writing, just wrote about making a pact with himself that “good enough” is enough for him. And ever since just started to publish new pieces weekly.
Sometimes it takes not a major event for a revelation, but one thought that someone shared, with whom you kinda are in the same boat, that just changes this tiny wire in your brain, and you start to see things differently.
“Done is better than perfect”.
That’s my new motto.
Because let me tell you — no one is gonna judge you as harshly as you’re gonna judge yourself. Even if you’ve done a mediocre or a “good enough” job, what’s the worst thing that’s gonna happen? You’re not the best at a craft — so what? Why do we always need to find approval or praise for whatever we do and refuse to do something just for fun?
Trying to hit a benchmark of near perfection is tricky: you’re gonna feel temporary satisfaction, but it will wear off. And before you know it, you’re gonna aim at achieving better, higher, bigger, and this vicious circle isn’t gonna end. Ever.
Let’s embrace the fact that we are all mediocre at many things by default. The genius ones among us are a rare gift of the universe — most of the people in our world aren’t always the best at everything, and it’s fine. Accepting that just doing your best is already an achievement is liberating. It makes our lives a lot easier and removes a lot of pressure that we tend to put on ourselves.
This doesn’t mean that we all should become careless about anything we do and forget about putting in an effort — of course not. But letting yourself and the process just flow is imperative. Sometimes not focusing on the end result is imperative. Concentrating on what you learn or feel while doing the task is more important and fruitful. Lowering the bar just a little to “good enough” opens up so much joy and curiosity that you‘d never experience if you only have the neon lights of “perfect” beaming blindingly to your eyes. It just makes our lives a little more playful.
I dare you to try.
