Being mediocre is not an option
I kind of have a main character syndrome. Not in the sense that I feel entitled to be an asshole to a waiter or that I must speak to the manager when my unreasonable request isn’t met. More in the sense of, in this movie called My Life, I am indeed the protagonist.
With great power, comes great responsibility1, some old fella would say and with that I agree. Being the protagonist is understanding that I am the sole responsible for the outcome of my life. Of course, there’s a bunch of luck involved, but in every area which I have a minimal influence there’s no excuse to not achieve, minimally, good results. Career, hobbies, relationships, sports, you name it.
This should be true for all areas I care about. No one wants to watch a movie about an average joe. Average is boring2. The dichotomy here is that I allow myself to be bad, even terrible, on things I don’t care about. I have to be, however, at least, good in the ones I do. I don’t need to be Pelé on everything (or anything to be more realistic), but being mediocre is not an option.
This puts me in a weird spot on things that I do care about but I’m still not good at - footvolley for instance. For those, I give the Rock Lee treatment - insist on it so much that eventually I get better. Talent is overrated3. It worked for swimming, programming, playing guitar, snowboarding, drawing. There’s nothing I can’t learn4.
Same applies to my career, and this is the reason I’m writing about this. I’m noticing a growing pattern of people who believe doing the bare minimum is good enough and, at times, this thought is occurring to me as well. “The environment makes the man”5 I once heard. I refuse that, I create my own environment6. Good is the minimum, great is desired and excellent is the goal. “So good they can’t ignore you”7.
Damn, this was repetitive. A bunch of clichés - seven if I counted correctly - to remind myself that no one is coming for me. I am the only person accountable for my life & success (or the lack of) and, for that, being mediocre is not an option.