Mediocrity is Self Inflicted

I think about starting quite a bit. Whether it's starting to train for an IronMan, losing a few pounds, buying peace of mind (saving) or a new business venture -there is fear stopping me. I have all sorts of excuses, it's too much, I need to know more, I don't have enough time for that ride or even know where to ride.

Reading a book from Seth Godin, WHAT TO DO WHEN IT'S YOUR TURN [and it's always your turn], he brings up a really good point. We really don't have traditional fear like we did -disease, wild animals, food (crops not growing). Now we worry about worry. We worry about failure. Another book, Start, allows you to reduce this immobilizing fear by starting small. It's too hard to ride a century, so you never do that 2 mile ride around the block.

It seems so crazy that the only way to start is by quitting our day jobs. Going for that first ride is the hardest thing you'll ever do, because from there, it's just more of the same. Maybe we are afraid of the work, or the pain or the failure. But the real fear is in starting. Starting has somehow become greater than the fear of wild animals, as Seth Godin says. This thought really connected with me. There are so many things I waited too long to try, because of the fear of starting.

There is good fear, whether it's the police, our own or others lives, that keeps us from driving our cars 150 mph down a residential street. Some fears can protect us. However, we've allowed a good fear, that could protect us, to keep us from starting something new.

There is no real danger is riding our bikes around the block, but fear stops us. It paralyzes us. I can't go for a ride around my block because I might get a flat tire, the chain might come off, I won't have enough water, my phone might die, I might get lost, I don't have warm enough clothes, it's too hot out, it might rain, I'm hungry, I just ate, I might be getting sick, I don't have enough time and about a million other excuses. That's right, excuses. We don't want to fail so we make excuses before we even start, that way it's someone else's fault. We can't be responsible for failing, it has to be someone else's fault.

For a long time I've said mediocrity is self inflicted, maybe someone else said it, but regardless, it is so true. We allow fear of starting hold us back and keep mediocrity firmly in place.

More is expected of me, and if your reading this, I assume you also feel more is expected of you. Step up to the fear, start. Go for that ride around the block, even if all your fears come true, walk home. And if in some crazy world none of them happen, don't forget to enjoy the ride.