If there’s one thing I don’t EVER want to be accused of … it’s being AVERAGE!
And hopefully after reading this little tidbit of an article, you will feel the same way too!
What’s Wrong With The “Status Quo”?
The biggest thing wrong with being an “Average person” is that YOU are not deciding your life — someone else is deciding it for you!
How You Are Being Average:
- School - told to go to school your whole child and teen years …
- College - go to college cause “it’s what you do” whether you know what you want to learn or not …
- Jobs - get a job because “it’s what you do”. Never start a business because “that’d be too hard … most businesses fail .. etc”
- Work - you only care about getting a paycheck, not creating a difference in the world, so you sit at a desk for an average of 40 hours per week & accomplish an average of 10 hours of productive work while you’re there …
- Money - “money isn’t everything” you tell yourself, and everyone else tells you “rich people are evil” and you never believe you’ll do any better than just “getting by” …
- Dating - date one or two people per year, those people o the opposite sex who literally FALL IN their lap! Never go looking for a woman (or man) who will make them happy …
- Relationships - one word. SETTLE. Whoever stays with you long enough you’re “in a relationship” now … no thought … you assume this role on default …
- Sex - you “get lucky” when you have sex because that’s all it is to you “luck”. There’s no way you could possibly have the amount of sex AND quality of sex you want because society controls this part of you too …
- Marriage - you get married because “it’s what you do”. Even though you’re not crazy about this person, even though you’re not wanting to spend the rest of your life with them … again it’s a decision made not by you, but by default by society at large.
- Happiness - it’s popular to be unhappy. You’re supposed to hate your job and look forward to doing the least amount of work necessary to get your paycheck and get home so you can enjoy …
- T.V. – the average person watches 3.9 hours of T.V. per day. So there’s “to time” to take care of …
- Health & Fitness – 58 Million Overweight; 40 Million Obese; 3 Million morbidly Obese … Eight out of 10 over 25’s old are Overweight … 78% of American’s not meeting basic activity level recommendations … 25% completely Sedentary … 76% increase in Type II diabetes in adults 30-40 yrs old since 1990 …
- God & Spirituality – you just accept what you were born with … or totally reject the notion of God … whichever requires less moving out of your comfort zone …
The Good News? You’re Not Alone!
Almost everyone you meet is going to be just like you in this life! That’s the good news.
You’re not any different … nobody is going to notice you … nobody is ever going to think you’re “rocking the boat” — so there’s no need to worry about any of that.
In fact, you’ll probably go through life and then leave it without hardly ever having made a sound — so good for you if you want to be average.
Happiness is a Choice You Know!
But here’s the thing: you really CAN have it all.
You don’t have to be “average”. You really can have EVERYTHING you want in each of those areas I listed above in your life.
You don’t have to settle for the “status quo”. You don’t have to live your life in “default mode”. You can consciously CHOOSE how you want to live your life … how you want to start each and every day … and how you want to “go out” in the end.
“Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.”
– Alan Keightley
That is true. It’s really up to YOU.
Teddy Rosevelt Was The F*CKING Man — So I’ll Let Him Close Us Out!
“Far better to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
– Teddy Rosevelt
Read that again. One more time. REALLY let it sink in!
If you’re not happy … if you’re living a life of being average … then you’re living in that “gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat”. The choice is up to you 
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
great post caleb.
Your article has some good encouraging advice. I do have one suggestion: Drop the profanity it is unnecessary to get your point across and can take away from the credibility of the message. You see anyone can utilize foul language.
Well I’m here in the f*cked average zone – I’m fat, miserable and stuck with a man who hates me but I cannot bring myself to leave – I’m too scared at how I’ll support two young children without having worked in ten years! So, I’ve f*cked myself into being in this spot – how do I find the balls to pull myself out of it? thanks
@Kells, get into shape, go to school, learn a skill, get a job and start a new beginning with you and your children. Trust me; they see what's going on. Show them you are strong and so they can be too.
Remember, there is nothing wrong with you. Making these changes in your life will change the way you think of yourself.
I know it sounds corny, but think of the little choo choo train that could and say, I KNOW I CAN!!!
Thanks for encouraging a fellow person, you're the man Deen!
Kells Kells Kells – been there many times throughout my life. You can say I got an A+ in self sabotage.
However, I have managed to always bring myself out of my rut. And the biggest reason I was able to do this is because I never stopped learning and working to improve myself. Of course when I was in my rut, I wasn't learning or improving myself, but I still had the belief that I could if I wanted to.
Deen has some wise words here because if you keep improving yourself and keep learning new things on a regular basis than nothing is permanent – it is all just a temporary passing moment – as you move towards greener pastures.
Deen said:
Making these changes in your life will change the way you think of yourself.
This is very true and encompasses the concept of where true power comes from: yourself. Once you realize that all things are temporary and that true power actually comes from inside yourself, you will no longer have to be a victim of your circumstances. Instead, you will be the architect of your own life – creating it exactly as you want.
You can try this exercise if you want:
Write down exactly how you want your life to look. This is the big picture. If you're having trouble doing this, first write down the major categories of your life like Health, Spirituality, Relationships, and Lifestyle (home, work, income, hobbies, what you do on a daily basis). Then simply write under each category what this would ideally look like for you. This isn't the time to be a critic. Act like you have a magic wand that you can wave and make your life exactly as you want it – write down what this would look like.
Then take note of where you are at now. This is very powerful because you can see where you are compared to where you want to be. Now you can work to close the gap. Start working on small goals that will take you towards your destination – one step at a time. Then have faith that you will get there. Eventually (maybe in less time than you imagined), you will be able to look back and see how much closer you are to your ideal life.
It's like driving somewhere. First you have to figure out your destination. Only after you have decided on where you want to be, can you map out the route. Once you have mapped out the route, you have to actually take action to get there. There may be detours and obstacles on the way, but you have faith that you will eventually get there because you know where you are going. If you kept doubting yourself and turning back around every 100 feet, you would never arrive at your destination…
Awesome advice Kyle!
Great post man!
@ solid: thanks!
@ Kells: hmmm … all I can say is if you wanna make a change, it’s not gonna get any easier in the future! Might as well bite the bullet now and do whatever it takes instead of dreading every day.
@ Sherer: Thanks!
Yeah, today our coach told us to run 8 miles (we’re still in our cross country season till Saturday when we have our State Meet where we won’t even get close to winning). Now I’m one of the top 5 guys on our team that counts in our races (I’m 3rd to be more specific) and decided that I would just stop working and just slack off this week with a few of my buddies who are on the team but not on the top five list. They were supposed to run only 7 miles and so I decided to go with them because it would be easier. On that run today, we stopped probably 12 times to do dumb things and we didn’t even run half the distance. So what I’m trying to say is that Teddy’s quote about being in the twilight zone, where there is no victory or defeat, really hit home for me… thanx.
@ Artem: cool man, glad it helped.
If you cant do it on your own, which is very understandable, save up the money and get on a 3 month challege with a trainer or some kind of boot camp, it's enough time to change your habits and your life FOREVER.
if you get through the first month, you will never go back to your ways!
If your fat intake is off the charts but your calorie intake is in range then what? Serious question I'm trying to learn this all out. Thanks!
Then you're probably in good shape! Watch a documentary called "Fat head" for more info
Depends on what kind of fat you are referring to. Some of the healthiest people in the world eat a diet that consists of 70% fat, but they this is usually fresh animal fat from organ meats, not twinkies!
Yup!
Dating – date one or two people per year, those people o the opposite sex who literally FALL IN their lap! Never go looking for a woman (or man) who will make them happy …
Trying to decipher this one – what are you saying here in the beginning?
Most people only date people who FALL in their lap.
They don't put any real "Work" into:
– improving themselves
– finding out what type of man/woman they want
– looking for those types of people
– being selective who they get in a relationship with
– making the relationships better,
ETc … knowhwatImean?
Awesome blog Caleb! Thanks heaps for reminding me what I DON'T want to be! Up and on from here baby!!!