Always At Your Best

“Only the mediocre are always at their best.”

I’m not sure if he came up with it, or just passed it along, but an old friend shared that quote with me the other day. It’s a simple but profound statement and it encapsulates the temptation of mediocrity: if mediocre is as high as you are planning to go, you can always stay at the top of your game.

Mediocrity is consistent. It’s predictable. What worked yesterday will likely work again today. You won’t need to come up with a new, untried solution. You will know what to expect. You’ll still get a trophy.

Mediocrity, at least in the moment, is comfortable. You probably won’t get kicked in the teeth trying to innovate a new path or plan. Experimentation is an open door to failure and mediocrity circumvents that door by sticking with the well-worn path and does what the crowd is doing and has always done. You won’t fall flat on your face all alone, because even when you do fail and fall, you’ll fail in and with the crowd. Mediocrity feels safe.

Striving for excellence means you’ll fail early and often. You’ll sometimes fall and oftentimes alone, or it will at least feel that way. It means you’ll never be at your best for long because your “best” continues to move out in front of you. It’s not safe, but it’s satisfying. You’ll never quit growing. And as long as you are chasing excellence, you will leave mediocrity far behind.

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