The 7 causes of mediocrity: is it time for a reality check?
95% of us will struggle for most of our lives (here's where we change that)
Hello everybody,
I know, I know. Today’s headline isn’t all that fun.
Reality checks generally aren’t. And nobody likes being called mediocre.
But by definition (of middling quality, neither good nor bad, average). the majority of us are mediocre.
And if that’s not where you want to be in life, it’s time to get intentional about becoming the kind of person who can rise above mediocrity.
After a slow and thoughtful start to the year, here is where The Work begins.
(If you’re still in ‘what do I want 2025 to look like?!’ mode there’s always time to complete a Past Year Review - below - and/or your Self Health Check-in ).
I probably don’t need to remind you that the number 1 regret of people at the end of life is not having had the courage to live a life true to themselves (Bronnie Ware, The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying).
But I would like to remind you that you are the only person who can get busy creating that life for yourself.
In this week’s chapter of our BOTM, The Miracle Morning, author Hal Elrod introduces us to The 95% Reality Check.
In the book (and in The Miracle Morning Movie) he shares some sobering stats from the US Social Security Administration: follow 100 people for 40 years, from the start of their working careers until retirement age and you will find:
1 of these people will be wealthy
4 of these people will be financially secure
5 will continue working into retirement because they have to pay their bills
36 will be dead
54 will be skint and dependent on their friends/family/govt to take care of them
Meaning only 5% of the working population will get to retirement age with any level of financial freedom and therefore, one would argue, the freedom to live that life true to themselves.
And also meaning that 95% of us may never create a life we love or even really want.
Unless we commit to thinking, doing and living differently than the 95%.
Hal says:
“We don’t need statistics to tell us that most people are struggling to create a life they love. We can look around at the people in our circle of influence, at society as a whole, or at the person staring back at us in the mirror and make our own assessment.
How many people do you know who are living or even attempting to live life at a level 10? On the flipside, how many people do you know who are settling for less than they want and struggling to enjoy life?
How many people do you know who are living a level 10? Or at least trying to?
Are you?
The good news is that if you’re reading this then I would say yes, yes you are already thinking and doing life differently than most other people and making intentional efforts to move away from mediocrity and into living a life of your own creation.
And if you need a little more inspiration and motivation to start taking Miracle Mornings - and yourself - seriously, Hal shares the 7 causes of mediocrity - along with their solutions:
THE CAUSES OF MEDIOCRITY (AND THEIR SOLUTIONS)
Cause: Rearview Mirror Syndrome (aka believing who we are and what we’re capable of is based on who we were).
Solution: Embrace Your Limitless Potential (upgrade your ‘habitual, unconscious thought patterns’ and reprogramme your subconscious mind).
Cause: Lack of Purpose.
Solution: Choose a Life Purpose.
Cause: Isolating Incidents (aka' ‘I’ll just skip it this one time’)
Solution: Be Present to the Impact of Your Choices (“consider that who you’re becoming is far more important than what you’re doing, and that it’s what you’re doing that is determining who you are becoming.”).
Cause: Lack of Accountability
Solution: Re-establish Accountability in Your Life.
Cause: Mediocre Circle of Influence
Solution: Upgrade Your Circle of Influence
Cause: Lack of Personal Development
Solution: Develop a Daily Personal Development Ritual
Cause: Lack of Urgency
Solution: Make Every Day the Most Important Day of Your Life
In tonight’s members meetup we’ll be diving into these 7 causes, looking at how we feel about the idea of mediocrity and how these ‘causes’ may show up in our lives. And then we’ll look at the solutions and workshop some ways we can start implementing these.
We’ll also be journalling our way to Level 10 Clarity on what we want our lives to look and feel like ahead of the 30-day ‘life transformation journey’ coming up soon in the book.
"Clarity is essential. Knowing exactly what you want builds your self-confidence immeasurably."
Brian Tracy
Book Club members/subscribers will find tonight’s event information and this week’s BOTM reading target in the Members Only section below, and - as ever - non-members can join the fun by subscribing today to the full Clubhouse experience and community.
See you and your journals on screen at 7pm (UK time).
Toni 💛
