For some weird reason, I look forward to the familiar person dressed up in a Statue of Liberty garb trying to entice me to get my taxes done. Even though it never works, it sooths my soul to know that with all that’s changing in the world today, I can still expect to see the familiar site of someone dressed up in a toga waving at me like I’m riding a dragon down the street.
I drive up and down this stretch of road every single day, and up until now I hadn’t noticed one critical detail about my torch wielding friend – she wasn’t human.
At some point down the line, whatever business that person worked for decided that they were so unnecessary to the company that they could be uprooted, eliminated and replaced by a machine, and I didn’t even notice that they went missing at all.
And that right there is the risk you run when you’re just good enough.
Being good enough doesn’t get you noticed.
Being good enough doesn’t move you forward in life.
Being good enough is the quickest way to ensure your downfall.
As time passes, you become expendable. Today’s good enough is tomorrow’s obsolete, and the only way to ensure that you aren’t gobbled up by the machine is to run. Run as fast as you can from good enough and towards redonkulously awesome. The closer you get towards this end of the spectrum, the less likely you are to be so easily replaced.
Nobody can replace Batman because he’s the best at what he does, but what about Daffodillia who holds the power to, you guessed it, grow daffodils on command but spends her time working at a coffee shop that she hates? Not so much – there are a ton of people who could do that.
The problems that we’re each facing in our lives can’t be solved by being good enough. Actually, being good enough will only buy you just a little more time to sweat before the axe inevitably drops. So instead of waiting, decide to become awesome. Push against being average and challenge yourself to become better than you ever thought you could be, and you will be rewarded for it.
“To be a warrior is not a simple matter of wishing to be one. It is rather an endless struggle that will go on to the very last moment of our lives. Nobody is born a warrior, in exactly the same way that nobody is born an average man. We make ourselves into one or the other.” – Carlos Castaneda
Are you going to settle for just being good enough?
Excellent.
Flawless Victory?
Flawless.
That quote sparked up this one for me:
It is not what we read, but what we remember that makes us learned. It is not what we intend but what we do that makes us useful. And, it is not a few faint wishes but a lifelong struggle that makes us valiant.
Henry Ward Beecher
This one is going into the quote book – thanks!
There are so many things that can drag you into a downward spiral, and before you know it, you’re an average person.
Being awesome requires constant awareness of what you are or not doing.
I ask myself many kinds of questions during any given day, like:
“Am I just wasting my time right now?”
“Will this help me get ripped/rich/whatever I want?”
“Will this make me a better/tougher/nicer person?”
The answer has to come fast and the only choices I have are YES and NO.
Too much thinking cripples us and promotes procrastination.
GREAT points!
As much as people might want to believe it, you don’t become awesome by accident. It’s a choice backed up by persistent effort.
The best thing is, becoming “redonkulously awesome” takes time, which means you can have a lot of fun along the way, and learn a heap. Which makes you more awesome. Positive feedback loop much?
You got it Nick! Great point.