Mediocrity has some of us on lock down! We see, hear and taste mediocrity everyday. Would you say that the masses have a mediocre mindset? Is mediocrity derived from our parents, friends, genetics, coworkers or a combination of all the above? Some of us are so accustomed to average service, effort and conversation we get excited when we are exposed to excellence. The funny part comes in when people are providing excellence and onlookers are in awe, the person that’s providing the excellent service is acting out of habit. They have formed a pattern of thinking that’s associated not with perfection, but with excellence. Imagine the bar is set where your toast is not burnt and your coffee is not cold, your email is not full and your laptop boots up, your plane is not late and the meeting ends on time. We can be the people who provide an excellent level of service!
I know we can’t always be on our “A” game, however we can always move the dial in a positive direction based on our patterns of thinking. If we can agree that mediocrity starts with a thought, and we can control what we think, we can change. Have you checked your habits lately? First we think about the action, then we talk about the action (possible internal conversation), then we act. We can be ordinary or exemplary.
“Excellence is a better teacher than mediocrity. The lessons of the ordinary are everywhere. Truly profound and original insights are to be found only in studying the exemplary.”
– Warren G. Bennis
