Being Good at Being Average
Years ago I heard this story about a girl who was a very good student through out all her schooling and always a hard worker. One day while in high school she was studying at the kitchen table and her mom walked by and asked her, “Why do you study so hard? Don’t you know it’s easier to go through life being average?”
Now her mom was right in many regards. Life is easier being average, but life is never better for being average. What a misguided and discouraging thing to say to someone trying to better themselves. But, if average is all you want then what does it take to be average? It turns out being good at being average really doesn’t take much.
How to Be Average
For someone of average intelligence being average largely means simply showing up and doing the bare minimum to get by. Being average means accepting whatever happens to you as fate and not accepting responsibility for the outcome of your life. Being average means trying to get the most from others while giving as little as possible in return (receiving but not giving).
Being average means being told what to do rather than taking the initiative to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done. Being average means standing on the sidelines or sitting in the stands as a spectator in life. Being average means being afraid of getting your hands dirty. Being average means not trying in order to avoid failing. Being average means never completing goals because you never set any.
Being average means not developing your skill or talents. Being average means avoiding discomfort by never going outside your comfort zone. Being average means avoiding the agony of defeat by denying yourself the chance to experience the thrill of victory.
Being average means merely existing but not thriving. Being average means coasting in life but aimlessly going nowhere in particular. Being average means settling for less than you can become despite being given more than you can ever use.
Yes, being average is easy, but being average is not an ideal way to go through life.
Quotes on Being Average
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
Eleanor Roosevelt
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
Winston Churchill
The healthiest competition occurs when average people win by putting above average effort.
Colin Powell
I’ve viewed myself as slightly above average in talent. And where I excel is ridiculous, sickening work ethic.
Will Smith
Marriage is about the most expensive way for the average man to get laundry done.
Burt Reynolds
Average leaders inspire people to punch a time clock. Great leaders inspire industry and passion.
Joseph B. Wirthlin
The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.
John C. Maxwell
If I could explain it to the average person, I wouldn’t have been worth the Nobel Prize.
Richard P. Feynman
Strike an average between what a woman thinks of her husband a month before she marries him and what she thinks of him a year afterward, and you will have the truth about him.
H. L. Mencken
A jury is composed of twelve men of average ignorance.
Herbert Spencer
Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.
Garrison Keillor
*source of quotes is BrainyQuote
