The Good Thing About Being Mediocre

The other day I was a part of a discussion about becoming an excellent writer. It has been said that a writer does not truly find his voice until he writes a million words. One guy decided to calculate it out. A person who wants to find his voice, only the first step in becoming a great writer, would have to write 1000 words a day for nearly three years. If he takes weekends off, he wouldn't arrive for nearly four years. Another guy taking part in the discussion said that he heard about a study that said the people who truly succeed are the ones who have the highest capacity to withstand their own mediocrity. Everyone else gives up too soon.

I think the same principal applies to all greatness, not skill as a writer. Growth takes effort and time. If I want to grow, become a great person, or a great lover of God or a great lover of other people, I have to slog through a lot of mediocrity, and probably some abject failure along the way.

As I reflected on these ideas I decided not to be discouraged by them. In fact, I think I like them. It takes a lot of practice and perseverance to become great, achieve mastery. On the way to that mastery there is a lot a well intentioned mediocrity. If I find myself to be mediocre I should not conclude that I will never succeed and give up. Instead I will shrug my shoulders, accept this as my current place on the journey, and soldier on toward excellence.