Fighting the Mediocre Life

Fighting the Mediocre Life

There is only one fight worth fighting. It's the fight against being mediocre in life. Mediocrity is drifting through life, going with the flow, not identifying a purpose, giving up on dreams, not choosing a higher calling, choosing to live far below your potential. To be mediocre means to be ordinary, not very good.

My wife and I recently started a Rocky movie marathon. In the first half of the first movie, Rocky was drifting. But an opportunity came his way to make something of himself. He almost chose to give up before even training to fight the heavy weight champion Apollo Creed. It would have been a pretty lame movie if he walked out of the office when the boxing promoter, presented the opportunity. He ends up taking the opportunity and choosing to take a shot at fulfilling his wildest dreams.

I would dare to say that most people choose to drift because life is hard. My grandfather used to say, "It's a hard life, but it's a life worth living." I think this goes for life in general, whether you choose the path of least resistance or not.

If life is hard, is there hope?

Of course there is!

But there is not hope in the external world. There is no hope in the weather, the economical climate, employment (or unemployment for some). Hope comes from deep within your soul. Even when it seems like hope comes from another person, place, or thing it does not. These things may stimulate hope, but ultimately hope resonates within your own soul.

It May Be Time to Kick Someone's A--

In the movie Starwars: Episode IV A New Hope, Luke Skywalker had to fight against himself. Two outcomes, one would be to get on the path to his destiny, the other would be to "join the dark side". The internal battles we all fight are similar. Do I take the risk and venture into the unknown toward greater potential, or do I drift?

These battles against mediocrity happen internally. Who do I have to become to get this result? These battles MUST start with you.

Jim Rhone in The Art of Exceptional Living said that we all have the same "stuff" to work with. He defined stuff as the rain, weather, economy, etc.

So what does living up to your full potential look like? Honestly I don't know, at least not yet. I can only dream and cast visions of what it might look like, but I cannot tell the ultimate future. What I do know is this: we are only able to control very little within this universe.

The very little that you are in control of is YOU. The more skill you have at controlling you, the better off you will be to face the greater challenges that come from living a more fulfilling life. The quest of self-mastery is this very concept. Mastering yourself is controlling yourself. That is the only true control. We've all been given free will. You exercise that free will when you use it to change outcomes that differ from mediocrity.

Greatness Comes from Within

Anyone who wants to make something great out of their life and impact the world in a positive way, will not find it outside of themselves. You will only find greatness in yourself. Controlling yourself allows you to control your choices, then control your habits, and then control your life.

I see the world as a giant ocean. You are on a ship. The better you can control that ship, the better you can navigate to destinations. It takes skill. It takes hard work. But upon reaching destinations that you mapped out for yourself, you will find fulfillment. This fulfillment doesn't come from reaching destinations alone. This fulfillment comes from achieving a challenging goal that YOU set out for yourself.

We cannot control the waves of life, but we can control the way we steer our ship. Did you know that a ship in a storm can avoid being flipped on it's side by steering into the large crashing waves? They must hit the waves head on. This is taking control, with courage.

The Choice is Yours

Choose right now that you will live a life worth living. Choose to take control of yourself. Choose self-mastery. And for goodness sakes, let go of everything you cannot control. Self-mastery requires acceptance, courage, and wisdom. Take note of the Serenity Prayer.

Lord, give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

You may have what it takes to live a life that goes beyond mediocre living. You may have what it takes to live a life of greatness, the choice is yours. It may not be the easiest thing to take ownership of your destiny, but it is the most fulfilling thing you can do.

Start with a Habit

If you are ready to take some first jabs and swings at knocking mediocrity to the ground, like Rocky, take action toward it.

Form a habit.

Actions lead to habits, which lead to personal discipline and mastery of character, which lead to shaping your destiny. Good habits repeated over time is the definition of success (another great saying from Jim Rhone). Kick mediocrity. Go for exceptional. Go for extraordinary.

If you would are having trouble forming a habit, get accountability. I have been offering Accountability Coaching surrounding the formation of good habits (all done through the Lift App).

If you would like to form a life changing habit that will result in your personal transformation, sign up.

You can be Rocky and I will be your Mickey, coaching from the side lines as you knock out mediocrity by knocking out daily habits. "Get up you son of a b----! 'cause Mickey loves you."

Samuel Hatton is passionate about entrepreneurial activities. He builds,  implements and runs marketing programs at Endsight. He is founder of Life is a Play, professional development motivation. Samuel is always up for good discussions and activities regarding careers, marketing, entrepreneurship, and job performance. You can find him on Google+ and Twitter.



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