Causes of MediocrityFrom Hal Elrod's book
Miracle Morning
According to the Social Security Administration, if you take any 100 people at the start of their working careers and follow them for the next 40 years until they reach retirement age, here’s what you will find: Only one will be wealthy; 4 will be financially secure; 5 will continue working, not because they want to but because they have to; 36 will be dead; and 54 will be broke and dependent on friends, family, relatives, and the government to take care of them.
Monetarily speaking, that’s only 5% of us who will be successful in creating a life of freedom, and 95% who will continue to struggle their entire lives.
Here are three simple, yet decisive steps to rise above mediocrity and join the top 5%.
#1 Acknowledge the 95% Reality CheckWe must understand and acknowledge the reality that 95% of our society will never create and live the life they really want. We must embrace the fact that if we don’t commit to thinking and living differently than
most people now, we are setting ourselves up to endure a life of mediocrity, struggle, failure and regret - just like most people. Realize this will include our own friends, family and peers if we don’t do something about it now and set an example of what’s possible when we commit to fulfilling our potential.
Being average means to settle for less than you truly want and are capable of, and to struggle for your entire life.
#2 Identify the causes of MediocrityOnce we’ve acknowledged that 95% of our society is settling for far less than they are capable of, struggling in almost every area, and not experiencing the levels of success, happiness, and freedom that they really want, the next crucial step is to understand
why.
The following aspires to be 7 of the most relevant causes of mediocrity and unfulfilled potential.
Rearview Mirror SyndromeRearview Mirror Syndrome is the belief that we are who we were, thus limiting the true potential in the present, based on the limitations of our past.
If we are to move beyond our past and transcend our limitations, we must stop living out of our rearview mirror, and start imagining a life of limitless possibilities. Always remember that where you are is a result of who your were, but where you go depends entirely on who you choose to be, from this moment on.
Lack of purposeThe average person cannot articulate their life’s purpose - the compelling “why” that drives them to wake up every day and do whatever it takes to fulfill their mission in life. Most people just focus on getting through the day, taking the path of least resistance, and pursuing short term, short-lived pleasures along the way, while avoiding any pain or discomfort that might cause them to grow.
To defeat this cause of mediocrity, we need a
life purpose, which can be any purpose you want, for instance, to find free market solutions to secure life, liberty, and property for all. Or something else entirely. You can have several life purposes, one of which is to become
the best version of ourselves. It can be anything that resonates with and inspires you to wake up every day and live in alignment with your purpose.
Isolating incidentsWe isolate incidents when we mistakenly assume that each choice we make, and each individual action we take, is only affecting that particular moment, or circumstance. For example, you may think it’s no big deal to miss a workout, procrastinate on a project or eat fast food because you’ll get a “do-over” tomorrow.
We must realize that the real impact and consequence of each of our choices and actions - and even our thoughts - is monumental, because every single thought, choice, and action is determining who we are becoming, which will ultimately determine the quality of our lives.
In the words of T Harv Eker, “
How you do anything is how you do everything.”
Lack of accountabilityAccountability is the act of being responsible to someone else for some action or result. Very little happens in this world, or in your life, without some form accountability.
Accountability is generally something we feel like we had to endure when we were younger, and as it was forced upon us by adults, most of us grew to resist and resent accountability altogether. When we turned 18 any of us embraced every ounce of freedom we could get our hands on, continuing to avoid accountability like it was the plague, perpetuating a downward spiral into mediocrity, developing detrimental mindsets and habits as laziness, deflecting responsibility, and taking short cuts - hardly a recipe for success.
Yet, the link between success and accountability is irrefutable. Virtually all successful people embrace a high degree of accountability. It gives them the leverage they need to take action and create results, even when they don’t feel like it.
Mediocre circle of influenceResearch has shown that we become a lot like the average of the five people we spend most time with. Who you spend your time with may be the single most determining factor in the person you become and in your quality of life. If you are surrounded by lazy, weak-minded, excuse-making people, you’ll inevitably become like them. Spend time with positive, successful achievers and inevitably their attitudes and successful habits will reflect on you.
ONe of the most important commitments you will ever make is to proactively and continuously improve your circle of influence. Always seek people who will add value to your life and bring out the best in you. And of course, be that person for others. You must
actively seek out such people to improve your circle of influence - they rarely just show up by chance.
Lack of personal development“
Our levels of success will rarely exceed our level of personal development, because success is something we attract by who we become.” - Jim Rohn
In other words, our level of success - in every area of your life - will rarely exceed, and usually parallel our level of personal development (i.e your knowledge, skills, beliefs, habits, etc.).
The problem is that most of us aren’t investing time each day into developing ourselves into the people that we need to be that are capable of attracting, creating, living, and sustaining the levels of success that we say we want.
Always remember that when we fail to make time for personal development, we are forced to make time for pain and struggle.
Lack of urgencyArguably the single most significant cause of mediocrity and unfulfilled potential, which prevents 95% of our society from creating and living the life they truly want, is that most people have no sense of urgency to improve themselves so they can improve their lives. Human nature is to live with a “someday” mindset and think
life will work itself out. How’s that working out for everybody?
Remember this truth:
now matters more than any other time in your life, because it’s what you are doing
today that is determining who you’re becoming, and who you’re becoming will always determine the quality and direction of your life.
#3 Draw your line in the sand“
One of the saddest things in life is to get to the end and look back in regret, knowing that you could have been, done, and had so much more.” - Robin Sharma
We’ve acknowledged and embraced the reality that 95% of society is struggling - and that if we don’t commit to thinking and living differently than most people, we
will end up struggling, like most people. We’ve identified the causes of mediocrity that we absolutely need to remain aware of an avoid.
The third step is to
draw you line in the sand. Make a decision as to what you are going to start doing differently from this day forward. Not tomorrow, not next week, or next month. You’ve got to make a decision
today that you’re ready to make the necessary changes to guarantee that you will be able to create the life you really want.
Your entire life changes the day that you decide you will no longer accept mediocrity for yourself. When you realize that today is the most important day of your life. When you wake up and decide that now matters more than any other time because it is who you are becoming each day based on the decision that you are making and the actions that you are taking that is determining who your are going to be for the rest of your life.
The reality is that if we don’t change
now, our life won’t change. You can decide that mediocrity is no longer acceptable for
you.
Topic: Motivation Monday #22 (Read 2313 times)
