This is what we are taught directly or indirectly throughout our lives. From a young age, we’re encouragedwe’rewe are encouraged to excel and view our achievements as a measure of personal worth. Everything we do is made to be a label on one’s value. Which is why we all fear being ‘average’. However, in reality, what we truly fear is not mediocrity; it is the possibility of insignificance, the idea that our lives won’t matter and will be forgotten. This leads to ‘Mediocre’ becoming synonymous with ‘forgettable’, which is what truly scares us.
Let go
What makes this fear particularly cruel is that it disguises itself as motivation. We convince ourselves that we are striving for greatness, but in reality, we’re often trapped in cycles of comparison.pushing for greatness, but in reality, we’re stuck in a loop of comparison. We become so focused on avoiding an “ordinary” life that we forget to actually live the one we have.
A life does not become meaningful because it stands out. It becomes meaningful because it is lived. While we are busy trying to run away from the ordinary, we overlook the quiet, extraordinary moments that make life what it is. However, the truth is that most of life unfolds in moments that will never be exceptional in any visible way. It could be conversations no one else will ever hear, the inside jokes you share with your friends, the moments that mean everything to you and nothing to anyone else.
To reject these moments because they are not impressive is to reject life itself.
To fear mediocrity is, in many ways, to fear being human.
This does not mean you cannot do exceptional things. Of course not! What it means is that there is nothing to be afraid of. Sometimes we are so focused on the life we did not live, or the life we hope to live someday, that we forget to live the life we already have.
Find meaning
What ultimately unsettles us is not the idea of being average, but the fear of living without purpose. Many individuals reach a point where they realise they followed expectations rather than their heart, prioritising approval over meaning. Remember, an impressive life on the surface can still feel empty if it was never consciously chosen and lived.
The point of life was never to be exceptional. It was just to live. To live with purpose, in alignment with one’s values, and to be present within the life one already has. Because one day, when you are gone, and your body returns to the earth, maggots feeding on what remains, the things you once thought defined your worth will no longer matter: your grades, your salary, or how impressive your resume looked.
What matters is did you live life on your terms and to its fullest.
Your life is for you. Not the world.
So live for yourself.