The choice not to be mediocre

When we talk about leadership, people of a certain caliber, strong characters and, above all, capable of achieving great projects, come to mind.
And then there are the so-called "mediocres," a sort of pariah to be avoided and despised.
But is that really all there is to it?

Midfielders and scorers

In 1999, Luciano Ligabue released one of his most famous and representative songs, "A Life as a Midfielder" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkn6xVOkEOI), which, drawing inspiration from the world of football, describes the lives of many of those who, despite giving their all, can at most aspire to overshadow those who, instead, do "goal" in life.

In its own way it is a heartbreaking song, although fierce in the reality it portrays, speaking with deep love of these midfielders who, no matter how hard they try, will never emerge, because they have neither the talent nor perhaps even the character traits to shine with their own light, but they know they can at least contribute to the team's victory. "serving" who is then able to make the difference.

Especially in the West, the myth of the winner, of those who are successful, of those who make it, of those who learn to express their potential to achieve extraordinary results and heights, is very strong.

On the one hand, there is a genuine veneration towards these people, just as, on the other, there is a certain ostentatious (and often false) good nature towards those less capable, which often leads to poorly concealed contempt.

So, the question is: who is the real mediocre?
He who loses even though he gives it his all or he who, instead, even though he never puts himself to the test, is content to climb the ladder
winner's chariot?

How do you know you're giving your best?

I realize that, as a coach, I shouldn't say something like this, going against all the trappings of this profession, but the hard and simple truth is that we are not all destined for greatnessThere are those who are born to win and those who are born to stand alongside the winner.
As harsh as this may sound, it is reality.

Perhaps, in another life and on another planet, where a different scale of values prevails, things would also be different.
The mediocre would be praised and the winners would honor them for helping them achieve their goal.

Here and today, however, obsessed as we are with the result, in most cases we do not see the commitment, sacrifice, self-denial, and humility of those "mediocre" people who play a crucial role in the victory of others.

Then, however, when they are no longer there, then we feel their absence and this is perhaps the only victory they can aspire to.
But is it enough to compensate for a life lived in the shadow of others?

This is not the right question.
The right question is whether you have truly given your best, and you can never answer this question until you are certain you have done so.
And how can we ever be sure?

I wrote earlier, with conviction, that not all of us are destined for success and what comes with it, but we cannot use this fact as an excuse to give up on the idea that we cannot do more.
So, there are two possible answers to the only two possibilities that exist in this regard.

The first possibility is that you are completely satisfied with the results achieved so far, even if mediocre (at least for yourself).
In reality, we never really know if we've given our all, but being able to contribute to someone else's victory—and enjoy it!—satisfies us, makes us feel useful, without any envy or recrimination.
We feel deep down that what we are doing is exactly what we were born to do and we feel grateful for it.

The other possibility is that we feel that what we have done so far is too tight.
For some reason, we know we can do more, we feel like we're here for something more, and then we just go for it.
It may or may not go well, but if we know we've given it our all, we'll have achieved a result we never would have achieved otherwise.

And that's a victory!

In neither of the above cases is there any real reason to feel mediocre or a loser. Perhaps others will see us that way...
but fuck them!

The words "median" And "mediocre" they share the same root which is "medium", Meaning what "in the middle of".

In football, the midfielder (today replaced by the more elegant "midfielder") is such by virtue of the position he occupies on the field and it is the role that "forces" in that area.

This isn't the case for the mediocre in life. None of us have a predetermined position... or maybe we do, but since we don't know, we just have to find out.

The two choices

At that point, again, we can decide to take one of two paths: the first is to "try", to push ourselves a little further forward until we get the first slaps... and when that happens, we take a step back and reposition ourselves more or less halfway, just enough to give us a certain security.

It may not be exciting, but ultimately, it may not be that unpleasant either.
This is TRUE mediocrity: always choose the most comfortable middle ground.

The other option is to seriously test ourselves, and a couple of slaps won't be enough to make us give up.
However, if we have to give up in the end, it will be because life has thrown us back in the middle.
It may be painful, but we can get through it and make sense of it...
Of course, WE won't feel mediocre and that's great!

Coaching is not for the first: who "chooses" mediocrity as a lifestyle, he will hardly want to get out of it.

For the latter, however, getting help from someone who has already helped others overcome their limits can be a real discovery, and even if the only result were to understand how far they can go, it would already be a great victory.
What if, on top of that, he discovered he could excel at something he'd never thought of?

How much could this be worth?

And let us remember that we are in this world for the purpose of grow, not to be successful!

Sure, the two things can coincide and it's great when they do, but more often than not, that's not the case.

Success is measured by the results we achieve; growth is measured by how much more we discover about ourselves, which in turn is measured by how effectively we learn to interact with the reality in which we operate.

Ask yourself these questions...

In your current reality, if suddenly all those disappeared
that you are somehow dealing with or have to deal with
measure yourself for some reason, as your result
would you consider "successful"?

Conclusion

Mediocrity is not a status, it's a feeling.

It's not your income, your social standing, the accolades, the popularity you achieve, etc. that make you mediocre rather than successful, but feeling... know that your life has meaning, for you and for others, and if you need fetishes to feel good about yourself, then TRUE mediocrity has already devoured you!

No one is born mediocre: one can only become so...

But before judging yourself based on the so-called successes you achieve or fail to achieve, decide for yourself - a priori! - what is so important. FOR YOU to make you choose one path rather than another.

Who do you have to answer to?