If you want to be a winner every time, set the bar low enough so that you’d have to work hard not to achieve it. People will applaud you because you act and look exactly like them.

I want to be the same as everyone else, said no one with self-respect, ever. When we were kids we had big dreams…we wanted to become someone in this world…to make our mark…but somewhere on that trail, we found tears, and discouragement in the form of other travelers who demanded that, if we wanted to walk along with them, we had to do and say the things they said and did.

Where I grew up we have a lovely park that borders on an island. The gap between the island and the mainland, dubbed The Tickle, is quite short, perhaps 300 ft, but it is deceptive because in that short space, right below the surface, is a super strong undertow. It’s been said that even canoeists and kayakers can feel its pull as they paddle through this gap.

More than one intrepid adventurer has tried to swim this gap and drowned.

When I think of an undertow – a deceptively calm surface that masks the danger that lies just below the surface, I think of The Tickle.

Similarly, the Cult of Mediocrity pulls at us in the same way. We consider the norm, what’s normal in our society, and feel content when we find ourselves falling within those parameters. We treat normal as if it were optimal.

Consider how content we are to get back normal test results from our doctor. This doesn’t mean we are healthy, it means that we are not sick. Why do we welcome that news?

Because it means that we can hold our heads above water?

Consider that gap conceals the undertow that leads you directly to the Cult. Most men and women with any sign of life in them can hold their heads above water, but that doesn’t mean they can swim.

At its best, normal is average. At its worst, normal is mediocre. Mediocre is a bar where we can always meet and find friends. These folks welcome you and invite you to saddle up to the bar and order yourself a beverage…something that gets you feeling comfortably numb.

If you’ve ever been in a bar sober when everyone else is drunk, you know exactly what I mean.

The question is, are these friends that you want?

The undertow is strong. It must be resisted at all costs.

Photo credit: jerz.setonhill.edu

A few years ago, when I was finishing up at the gym, a woman came and sat beside me. She began talking about how much she enjoyed the gym because it got her out of the house. She told me, that going to the gym was a great pastime. I noticed that she generally lifted very light weights and spent most of her time talking to folks who were working out. She went on to share that it was a great place to meet friends, but she didn’t actually do much Exercise. I don’t like to sweat, she told me…adding, I’m 73, you know!

Should I have applauded? I’m 63. I have often shared that women my age, in particular, who work out in beast mode at the gym are few and far between. In fact, I haven’t met a woman my age who lifts as heavy as I do. That is sad…and concerning.

As we age, we often settle for being average. In fact, we consider being average as meaning that we are doing well, or as well as can be expected, considering our age.

Here’s a challenge for you…one with which I challenge myself every day…be the exception. Instead of taking it easy, amp it up.

Begin by physically going that extra mile. This means walking, cycling, running, or hiking. It means moving your buns.

Yes. Older people belong on the trails, the roads, the hills, and the stairs.

Progress to lifting that extra 5 lbs at the gym.

Yes. Older people belong in the gym.

Resistance training has been proven to raise the bar healthwise, and our enhanced health allows us to move up a step…to raise ourselves above the norm to a place where we can truly identify the Cult for what it is…an undertow.

Here’s the key…own it. Let no man or woman intimidate you, or advise you that you are not capable of living your best, most vibrant life.

The only way to become the exception to the Cult of Mediocrity is to…

Own that space like a Boss.

What can you do today that raises the bar?

Originally Published on https://akasha111blog.wordpress.com/

Paula Tozer Author

Paula D. Tozer is the author of three books - Saving Your Own Life: Learning to Live Like You Are Dying; An Elegant Mind's Handbook, and Enchanting Treve, a Novel. She is also an actor, singer/songwriter, Creativity Coach, competitive speaker, and leader with Toastmasters, as well as an avid cyclist, hiker, gym rat, and critter lover. The vast majority of her accomplishments have been achieved after the age of 50, demonstrating that It is never too late to be what you truly could have been...

Paula believes that living fiercely at any age is the way to optimize our time on this side of the grass. She has taken up the mission to inspire and motivate her contemporaries with what she has found that has allowed her to age with elegance, vitality, and most of all, good humor!