I know the idea of mediocrity carries a rather negative connotation. Synonyms range from the underwhelming “not very good” to “passable,” not generally something you’d admit to aspiring to. But the word mediocre comes from Old French and Latin and literally means “halfway up the mountain.” I don’t know about you but halfway up doesn’t sound like such a terrible place.
I live in the shadow of some of the greatest mountains on the planet. I’ve done my share of hiking and climbing them and can testify of the effort it takes to reach the top. But in life there are many of us who decide not to hike at all because of the risk of never reaching the peak, or those who set out for the peak but for various reasons don’t make it and instead of celebrating the vistas they did crest and the progress they made, can only ever focus on the things they missed. As a recovering perfectionist I can relate to both groups of people and I’m sure at least one of you reading this can too.
As part of my blogging journey I hope to challenge the idea of mediocrity. Halfway up doesn’t have to mean failure. Halfway up proves you’ve worked hard to change from where you started to somewhere higher, and that you are still working! Halfway up gives you a different perspective and provides experiences that influence where you’ll go next.
None of us is a finished product, we are all works in progress. Just because we’ve still got a ways to go doesn’t mean we haven’t already come so far. Only halfway up? Take a look around, the view is pretty incredible. Join me, won’t you?