If you’ve been in the pursuit of perfection, to be extraordinary, to find greatness, to be the best - you're probably feeling pretty defeated and ready to give up. While having goals, purpose, ambitions and standards are important and keep us moving forward, many of us set these so impossibly high that we cannot actually achieve them. These perfectionistic tendencies can lead to self-defeating thoughts or behaviours - like telling ourselves we’re not good enough or procrastinating to avoid making a mistake, which makes it even harder to achieve our goals. So would embracing being average be better for our wellbeing, and to seek contentment?
Why should we aim for average?
As humans, we’re widely diverse creatures in our skills, talents, and abilities. We each have our own strengths and weaknesses. But we’re mostly average at most things. It’s just the nature of life, even those exceptional in something usually come in average or below average elsewhere.
We have been taught, told and inspired to be something great, that we all have the power to be extraordinary and special, to be or obtain the best in our chosen fields. And while that might absolutely be true - if everyone had an extraordinary life, then by definition, none of us would have, right?
The need for perfection can be self-destructive. It can fuel fear, disappointment, and frustration. It can cause us to procrastinate while decreasing our ability to make decisions. It can increase our anxiety levels and deplete our self-esteem. And it’s fuelling our pursuit for happiness - not a permanent state to achieve.
How do we embrace averageness then?
Embracing averageness doesn’t mean we don’t care, we should stop trying or that we need to throw in the towel. It’s about accepting that our best is enough, trying and failing is enough, feeling satisfied is enough, being average is enough.
When we expect extraordinary outcomes, we feel entitled to them, or we cannot accept that something might not work out, problems arise. It can lead us to those existential crisis questions and self-deprecating thoughts, “What’s the point?” “I’ll never be good enough”, “I should just give up now”. Which isn’t exactly a path to happiness, or contentment even, it’s much more likely a route to burnout, low self-worth, and heightened depression and anxiety.
So, here are 4 ways to start embracing averageness:
Take pleasure in everyday things
Build a habit of appreciating the ordinary things in life, having a car that gets you from A to B but is no Tesla, a home that is lived in and loved (despite the numerous Pinterest boards for organisation hacks), the comfort of pyjamas and an early night on a Friday. The simple moments of comfort, joy, satisfaction.
Stop comparing yourself to others
In real life or online, it’s rare to know the full picture of other people, even our nearest and dearest. We often find ourselves wishing we had what others have because it all looks so amazing. Their figure, that relationship, their ability to get promotion after promotion hopping up the career ladder, easy breezy. Comparing ourselves to others, celebs or peers, wishing we had what they had, completely overlooks our own success, achievements, and abilities.
Make a values inventory
Think about what you value in life, what does success mean to you? What about happiness? What’s important to you? We can get swept up in the ‘shoulds’ and ‘musts’, for example, “I should have weekly date nights for my relationship to be good enough” or “I must keep working late to prove my worth to my boss”. But does that really align with your values? Or is it something the media told you to do, your parents want you to do, or your best friend values?
Accept that your best efforts are enough
Many of us fear failure, lack belief in ourselves, or struggle to acknowledge our worth. But having a go, trying your best, giving it all you’ve got - even to fall and fail, is enough. Your best efforts are enough, whether they succeed or not. Because we can’t always all be extraordinary!
Put the 'extra' in ordinary: part of being human is being ordinary, average, but it doesn’t half suck when we try our hardest and things don’t work out. The extra part of being ordinary (and human) means dealing with setbacks and challenges. Remember to be compassionate for yourself when things don’t work out as you hoped, allow yourself to feel whatever you feel, before picking yourself back up and getting back to it!