Your worst enemy in life is to be contented with an average life. Average life is acceptance of one’s fate in the midst of plenty. It is a more precarious state of despair, worthlessness, and hopelessness. Average life is a state of self-condemnation and a feeling of not too good among one’s peers. On many fronts, encountering failure in life’s tasks is more important and noble for a man than for him to settle for an average living. However, the most beautiful thing about failure is that failure always has something to teach you. There is usually an opportunity to learn when you try and fail if you don’t give up. But an average life is lived in the valley of self-pity, whining, and striving to maintain the status quo. A wise man once remarked that “average is the best of the worst people and the worst of the best people,” either way, those who have settled for an average life have settled for a life of mediocrity.
A mediocre will not attempt great projects in life. He will not maintain friendships with outstanding people who can influence him positively. He will pursue a mediocre job. He won’t build a great career. He will raise a lousy family. He will be satisfied working from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm to earn a mediocre salary. A mediocre is always scared of leaving his comfort zone. He is always pursuing security and minimum safety to survive in life. A mediocre suffers terribly from inertia and needs to be pushed to work. He is not self-inspired, self-motivated, or self-directed and is unwilling to take the bull by the horns.
Our discourse, so far, shows that nothing is gratifying in living an average life. It makes people in society look down on you. It is all a pain in the ass for those who subjected themselves to it. I am going to give you some quick remedies to address the situation. As a matter of necessity, you will have to take a proactive measure against it to abolish its effect on your destiny.
Another fallacy about average living is the erroneous belief that an average life is synonymous with contentment. I don’t know where that thinking is coming from; it’s definitely not the will of your Creator for you. Average living and contentment are two different things; while contentment is exhibiting a high level of maturity, average life is being complacent with your God-given potential. You are created to be men and women of exploits, so your rhetoric, every day and night, should be, “Nothing shall be impossible to me because I possess an extraordinary talent.” Because nothing shall be impossible to you, therefore, your yesterday shouldn’t be better than your today! Your path in life should be like a shining light that shines brighter and brighter until the day dawns. I have uncovered four primary laws that govern the conquest of the enemy called average. I will highlight them below for our passionate learning.
- The Law of Commitment – Jean-Paul Satre remarked, “Commitment is an act, not a word.” Nothing in life gets done without commitment. Commitment is like a stamp that gets your letter to its destination. To arrive at the zenith of your life’s endeavor, you must demonstrate a strong and deadly commitment to your life’s goals and objectives. Mary Louise Wiley says, “If you want your life to be meaningful, go out and do something about it.” An average life is a life that is usually devoid of meaning due to a lack of commitment to one’s life goal(s). Therefore, I challenge you to give your life meaning with your commitment. Your undying commitment to a cause is the antidote to a meaningless life. Don’t watch life pass you by; be involved with your community and volunteer for a cause. Be diligent in the little tasks, and you won’t have to work harder to accomplish the difficult tasks. In all the battles of life, commitment will eventually win the race.
- The Law of Excellence — This implies striving to be the best in all your life’s endeavors —a desire to be at the pinnacle of your career or calling and passionately working harder and smarter to be the best version of yourself. This notable quote from Maya Angelou inspires me daily to be the best in my world. It says, “Do the best you can do until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.” The importance of this quote is that you don’t have to have all the required resources to excel in life. You can always do your best, even with the fewer resources you currently possess. Maya Angelou counseled that you can upgrade yourself later with better information. Another fact is don’t expect the best possible outcome with people you are better than; they won’t add any value to you. Walk with people who are more intelligent, competent, and successful than you; that is how to lead an excellent life.
- The Law of Pursuit of Knowledge — Knowledge is the principal raw material for triumphing in life. Without knowledge, purposes are disappointed. The more knowledge you have in your chosen field, the more successful you will become. Every transformation in life is a result of information. You must be a committed reader and learner to move beyond an average life. Cultivate the habit of reading inspirational material daily for at least one hour. When you know your calling in life, begin to read strategically by reading selectively on a particular subject of interest. Knowledge is the only antidote for ignorance. The more you know, the more unrestrained you are in your mind, and the more you can communicate the same. The more you know, the bolder you become in facing life challenges. You need knowledge to turn around the table of life in your favor. Life is cruel sometimes, but you need the knowledge to silence its cruelty against your destiny.
- The Law of Steady Progress – Rome, they say, was not built in a day! Every day, make sure you do something that significantly improves you. The truth is that no matter how much personal growth you have experienced to date, there is always more room for improvement. That is why a wise man says that the largest room in the world is the room for improvement! Let your desire for progress be insatiable. Whenever you reach your best milestone, please understand you can still improve. The enemy of the better is good. Destroy all the “good results” by aspiring for better daily outcomes. Don’t allow yourself to be stuck with today’s success. There is always more for you in the future if you care to explore life further. Here is the action point: After reading this article, quit talking about yesterday’s success and start thinking about what could still be possible for you. Start taking those proactive steps now and keep moving in the right direction. Let me leave you with this quote from Walt Disney: “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” Why not start the journey to your greatness now?
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Editor’s Note: This article is an adapted version of my original article titled “Conquering an Enemy Called Average” in Compass Magazine.
Author: Olusegun Osineye
Olusegun Osineye earned his Doctor of Ministry (DMin) in Transformational Leadership from Boston University. He's passionate about creatively adding value to the black race by utilizing life's simple philosophy for their flourishing.
