We live in a culture that shouts in our ear that we must become successful. That we must kill any "averageness" within us, and replace it with boldness, exceptionalism and success. (After all, "settling" is practically the worst crime you could possibly commit in our self improvement culture.)
And so what happens if you do have mediocrity in your life? Hours of wasted time on TV or your phone each day.
Well, our culture tells us you to burn it out. To smother it with overpowering motivation and inspirational quotes, and not allow any averageness or mediocrity to enter your life (or heaven forbid the desire for averageness or mediocrity).
And so does this approach work? Well for most people it doesn't. Why? Because as we all know "what you resist persists," so shaming ourselves and resisting these habits just makes them stronger. It also ignores the obvious fact that the reason why you spend hours a day wasting time on your phone each day is because part of you wants to. A deep part of you is OK with it, or even enjoys it -- that's why you're doing it.
Instead I recommend a completely different approach: Keep doing mediocrity until you can no longer stomach it.
Burn it up. Get it out of your system. Relish in it. Enjoy it (heaven forbid). Keep hanging out in that sphere of mediocrity until you no longer can. And when you reach that point? Commit all the way to exceptionalism. Go for true love and your highest self. Go all in.
The resistance people have at this point is the fear that if they allow and accept mediocrity, it will stay in their lives forever. That you WILL settle. That you'll live a life of mediocrity. However, the fact that you are reading this right now tells me that a life of averageness probably isn't in the cards for you -- rather a deeper part of you craves to live a more intense, extreme, powerful life. To step into something more incredible. For you mediocrity won't last forever.
It's actually allowance that resumes natural flow, and burns up your desire for (unwanted) mediocrity a lot faster than when you resist it.
So then what happens when it's all burned up? You wont need to constantly struggle to motivate yourself because deep down at your core you won't have any interest in mediocrity anymore. At your core you will crave to live a more extreme life, and step into more powerful actions. To go all in.
... A much more effective approach in my opinion.
So keep doing mediocrity until you can longer stomach it -- and enjoy the process along the way.
Greg is an "inner game" specialist for truth-oriented people over at AwakenTheWildWithin.com. He helps people come alive to who they *really* are with e-courses and coaching programs. To follow Greg and get updates and inspiration, sign up here.