20 Guaranteed Steps Toward Mediocrity

As an Orthopedic surgeon, I am asked one question more than any other.

Rarely do I get asked how many surgeries I have performed. I wish more people would ask me, with the intent of listening,  what I think they should do about their problem. And although I get asked a lot, requests for pain medicine do not top the list.

The most common question I get is, “Is this normal?”

photo by JD Hancock (Creative Commons)

Although I understand the desire to have a normal shoulder, the desire to be like everyone else plagues our society. Normalcy leads to normal stories.

For many of us, our hope greatest hope is to fit in. From middle school through college and into adulthood, we want to be like everybody else.

We spend much of our lives pursuing mediocrity.

Interested in normal? Here are 20 guaranteed steps to get you there.

1. Have realistic, plausible dreams.
2. Stop reading books when you stop going to school.
3. Keep all of the rules.
4. Don’t exercise.
5. Instead of loving people and doing good for others, always think of yourself first.
6. Start tomorrow.
7. Surround yourself with friends who need affirmation that their pursuit of mediocrity is normal.
8. Don’t give any of your money to charity. Spend it on yourself.
9. Give up when you don’t attain immediate success.
10. Never give it another try. You might fail again.
11. Eat poorly.
12. Watch television every night.
13. Buy as much stuff as you can because it makes you happy.
14. Don’t volunteer your time to make your community or the world better.
15. Do absolutely nothing that hurts.
16. Learn nothing new. You probably are good enough the way you are.
17. Fill your time with activities that only entertain you in a moment and have no lasting impact on your life.
18. Define success by what kind of car you drive and how big your house is.
19. Avoid anything that might result in failure or make you look stupid.
20. Only do things that are easy.

I am sure there are more, but if your goal is normal, then these steps should help you.

As you can see, though. Normal may not be that great after all.

What do you do that is normal that prevents you from becoming exceptional? Leave a comment.

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