Mediocrity Should Become the New Norm
If we are willing to face the hard truths about life
How many times a year do we come across the list of the most influential people around the world? How many times a week are we introduced to failures that became success stories? How many times a day do we see online content urging us to achieve more?
This type of news has changed the way we perceive ourselves. It has made us addicted to self-improvement and stuck in the approval-seeking trap.
- As an employee, you have to always increase your productivity
- As an introvert, you should try to win friends and influence people
- If you read books, then you must become a better reader
- If you write, then you must market yourself, and then, your writings
- Well, regarding money, there are ways to make us rich or richer
However, even in a world demanding perfection and always asking for more, there is always a place for average, ordinary, or regular people who simply do things their way.
How we are deceiving ourselves and others
Social media content and media coverage have diverted our motives. We currently do what others are doing, and we do things their way. This is simply because we assume that if everyone is doing something, then it should be the best thing to do, and that their way is definitely the only way. What is even worse is that we reached a point where we all chase the same goals: money, perfection, and power.
Exercising is one example to start with. Some people go to the gym because this is the trend. They spend time taking photos and communicating more than exercising. However, most people exercise because they want a “perfect body”, a body like a celebrity they cherish. The same applies to why people nowadays are obsessed with makeup, plastic surgery, as well as filters and angels. All of this is causing people to undervalue their uniqueness, to see themselves through the lens of others, and to feel less comfortable and confident in their own skin.
Another obvious example is “online manipulation” and the huge number of people using it. The latter can be explained by the fact that we are living in a digital age, where it takes more than doing things right to get our foot in the door. It takes a marketing tactic. People nowadays build an audience by means of extensive personal branding and online presence in order to get their work going. Success is now based on the ability to sell a product, service, or idea regardless of the means and values. This explains why we reached a point where:
- Readers buy “writers” and not their “writings”
- Customers buy “celebrities” and not the “product” they advertise
- Employers hire candidates with good self-marketing skills
- Individuals can manipulate public opinion
- Everyone is a founder or cofounder
- Everyone acts happy all the time
- Everyone has a perfect life
Why we should embrace our average selves
Almost everything you see on social media accounts, websites, and blogs is dangerously inauthentic, but it has, unfortunately, instilled new definitions of success, happiness, and self-worth. That is why it is crucial, now more than ever, to shift our focus from external demands to our inner selves, and notice how everything evolves in a magical way.
It is falsely marketed that average people lack traits that successful people have.
Average people are successful. They care less about money and more about enjoying what they are doing, be it a job, a hobby, or anything else. They are far from falling into the comparison trap for they know there is something called “luck”, and it is represented by some of those external factors that one cannot control, such as the place of birth and financial status. They set realistic goals based on their own capabilities, preferences, conditions, and resources.
It is also falsely marketed that average people are plain boring.
Average people are simply realistic. They are aware that failures are an inevitable part of life. They know that perfection is not possible because no one can be good at everything. They do not need to launch a startup to prove that they are successful. They are on good terms with sorrow, from time to time, for the reason that no one can pursue eternal happiness.
A few years ago, I was so obsessed with reading as many books as I could. I guess all readers know how a sense of euphoria takes over as we finish reading a book. I was also taken by those titles, such as: “How to read 100 books in a year” or “ How to read 500 pages a day” just like that “X” successful person. This completely changed the day a friend of mine asked me about the name of the author of a book I read months ago, in addition to the original language of the book and other books written by the same author. I did not know the answers, and this was the lesson my friend wanted me to learn. Numbers are not important. What really matters is how many lessons we learn from books, how much information we retain, and how knowledgeable we are about the author.
Perhaps we have to learn this the hard way, but that is totally fine as long as we do. Yes, it is okay to be different. Yes, it is okay to be average. Yes, we should do things for us and not for others. This should no longer be questionable, especially when definitions of norms and averages are being set by imperfect people marketing and demanding perfection.
