What comes to your mind when you hear the word mediocre?
Average? Below average? Not too good? Not too bad? So so? Just OK? 50 50?
All in all, there’s a negative connotation attached to it. That’s no surprise. Why? If you look it up in an English dictionary, you’ll see why.
In terms of word origin, derives from French via the Latin, mediocre literally means halfway up the mountain.
For the sake of argument, if you reached the midpoint of the world highest mountain Himalaya, would you call yourself an average achiever? That’s whopping over 4000 km above sea level! Mediocre in this context, in any language is no average at all. In fact, for that kind of height, it’s considered to be a peak in many countries no matter what yardsticks you use.
Let’s face it, whatever goals we set out to achieve, big or small, the size doesn’t matter, we’ll always feel a mountain of work in front of us anyway. If the first step is hard enough, let alone finish midway.
Funny we often celebrate for having taken the very first step, but we disapprove of ourselves for getting there halfway? Shouldn’t we even have a bigger celebration to mark the effort?
Mediocrity, whichever angle we look at it from, it’s an accomplishment in itself. It may not be something you want to rave about, but at the “core” of it, lies in your ability to get to the top. You’re already halfway! Congrats!
Next time I hear the word mediocre again? I’ll take it as a compliment…
Ted Tsai 