Embracing Mediocrity

I am Mediocre. There, whew, I said it out loud. What a relief.

Being mediocre is not new to me. If I’m honest, I’ve been middle, average, dull, boring, ordinary, plain, and common – all my life.

Born middle class. Oh, okay, LOWER middle class, but don’t tell my folks ‘k? They couldn’t bear to think that I finally realized that little tidbit of knowledge. I think it would hurt them worse than when I realized that there was only six months between their wedding date and my birthday. Mom was a hairdresser and dad was a truck driver. I grew up in the Midwest. We even lived in the middle of the county where I grew up.

I graduated in the middle of the top half of my high school class. I was always a face in the crowd. I was just someone in the background. I never made a scene, never really excelled at anything. If people took the time to get to know me, they usually found me to be friendly and funny, but not necessarily overly warm or dynamic.

Living with mediocrity taught me how to settle for less. How to always find the silver lining and be happy with what ever was available to me. Settling doesn’t get you the grand prize, ever. As a matter of fact it got me divorced from an alcoholic because I always told myself he would “grow out of it.” But the ability to find the silver lining has always been a great benefit in my life.

Today I’m still in the middle. I’m middle aged. Middle class. I drive a mid-sized car. I live in Central Florida. I’m in a midscale position in my workplace and I’m neither the top performer nor the bottom of the barrel.

My politics are in the middle, neither overly conservative nor overly liberal. Despite the fact that I grew up in a boring Congregational Church (tres WASP-y), I really have no religion worth mentioning.

I even listen to mediocre music: country and classic rock. I like mediocre forms of entertainment; reality TV, chick flicks, Grisham novels.

I’ve spent some time analyzing where I am in my life. Where I’ve been, where I’ve come from and where I am heading. I’ve been trying to decide if I’m happy because I’ve forced myself to find the silver lining or am I really happy. And the bottom line is that despite what has every appearance of shaping up to be a boring ol’ life, I’m extremely satisfied and truly happy. I have learned to go for the gusto a little and take some calculated risks and not settle so much. And it has paid off, I have a great husband now, happy kids, a beautiful home and a job I love. But all in all, I’m still in an average place in life – and average is good. Average is stable and predictable and relatively drama free. Average is comfortable.

I see people struggling daily to be relevant, to find their place and make a name for themselves. After years and years of feeling inadequate for not having that same need, for not having that burn to etch my name in the annals of history in some spectacular manner, I’ve come to realize that being ordinary, even mediocre is just fine. It’s my destiny. And I’ll keep riding along in the middle of my road. Wave as you pass me by on your way to your fantastic destiny!