Excellence is a habit..so is being mediocre!

 

Without meaning to sound morbid or gruesome, here’s a quote that is worth reading again and again and again.

 

“Most humans, in varying degrees, are already dead. In one way or another they have lost their dreams, their ambitions, their desire for a better life. They have surrendered their fight for self-esteem and they have compromised their great potential. They have settled for a life of mediocrity, days of despair and nights of tears. They are no more than living deaths confined to cemeteries of their choice. Yet they need not remain in that state. They can be resurrected from their sorry condition. They can each perform the greatest miracle in the world. They can each come back from the dead…”
― Og Mandino, The Greatest Miracle in World

 

It is time for some purposeful provocation. Time to stand naked in your own truth. About not being apologetic when you set lofty goals. About pursuing your passion with vigor and confidence. And going out and shipping your best work or art.

 

When the preferable is not available, the available becomes preferable. Take the easy way out. Go with the herd(Not to be heard again). Beware of that. And all of it’s always been done that way syndrome. If you are Quadrant Biking through life, this would come in Concourse 1 where there is high possibility and high enrollment. Because thats where the masses are headed. Happy to be in the SOS(Sea of Sameness) space. More on this at https://shorturl.at/R9iHV

 

“It’s lonely at the top. 99% of people are convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for mediocre. The level of competition is thus fiercest for ‘realistic’ goals, paradoxically making them the most competitive.”

–Tim Ferriss

 

Ironical isn’t it that we are knowingly ultra competitive when we are striving for mediocrity. And, ironically, the fiercest competition is for the second-class prizes. And we still don’t get it!

 

It’s a long never ending tirade. Justifications that are shallow, hollow and mere escapism. I am referring to the reasons why we endorse and end up doing mediocre work. Let’s look at the usual suspects..

The brief was lousy..

I hardly had any time..

The customer does not value quality..

We never get the right price..

It’s a one way street, we are always the one being short changed..

Does it really matter? As nobody ever notices..

You are always critical..

This market never appreciates high quality..

The management will never understand..

I have always done it this way..

My boss is a jerk..

I don’t want to fail..I rather play safe..

 

They are all sad facades, masking the real issue. The outcome where sub optimal emotional labour is committed will always reflect a huge gap between what could have been and what is.

 

If you want to grow into an extraordinary version of yourself, you must be willing to fail — a lot.

 

If we can prepare ourselves to be as indistractable as possible, zero in on distilling the vital few from the trivial many( the practice of “Essentialism“), and be prepared to look in the ugly mirror, we can stop running on the treadmill of mediocrity. Not just that. With high focus, extreme prioritization and unflappable emotional labour, we can all get to producing our ‘ One Picasso for the day .’

 

What do you uniquely do that matters the most? After all, you can only do one thing really well at a time. SIP by SIP. Engage in some Mutual Fun!

 

So, time to offer a serenade to life, in all its terrifying and transcendent uncertainty, sung in ink, watercolor, and wonder.

 

Where’s your paint brush? The canvas and the easel awaits. And your version of the Guernica.