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Measuring Up



The NCAA basketball tournament just wrapped up, and the NBA is drooling over the new talent they are ready to introduce into the League. Also, we have the 2019 NFL Draft at the end of the month. Over these next few weeks, there should be plenty of chatter on the television and social forums about the potential of these young athletes. No doubt, there will be several of these hopeful stars who will never live up to the expectation and the hype. They will be mocked and ridiculed as being “draft busts.”

These “busts” will still be among the most talented athletes in the world at their given position. They will be the top fraction of the top 1% in their given field of expertise, yet they will be reviled as failures as the public pities the hapless team that “wasted” a draft pick.

Why does a quarterback, after being drafted in the first round, become a target of criticism and labeled as a failure if he remains a backup after five years in the NFL? After all, he would likely be one of the top 50 quarterbacks on the entire planet. Top 50 out of nearly 8 billion people seems like quite an accomplishment. Furthermore, at five years, his career would have already surpassed the league average lifespan by nearly 50%. The reason this QB will be considered a disappointment is that we don’t measure a top athlete’s accomplishment compared to average individuals; we weigh his success against his potential. We measure him against what he could be and what we think he should be, based on his talent, skill and athleticism.

Why don’t we use the same yardstick on ourselves? When it comes to personal development and accomplishment, we like to compare ourselves against “average.” If we can find some guy doing a worse job than us, we feel content. “Hey, I might not be where I could be in this company, but at least I am not like Lester over there!” *Meanwhile, Lester has his finger up his nose to the second knuckle and is eating a piece of plastic fruit he stole from the lobby*

There will always be a lower common denominator to make you feel better about yourself, but that comparison won’t make you better. Be courageous enough to compare yourself to your potential and not your peers.


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