Considering an Alternate Viewpoint: “The Curse of Exceptionality”
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Lea Woodward shared an interesting viewpoint yesterday on FreelanceSwitch. Lea proposes that being ‘average’ may just be enough, and discusses how in a culture saturated with self-improvement and business success literature, a strong focus on exceptionality can actually lead to burnout:
In a society where everyone is trying to be exceptional or remarkable, the outcome is likely to be one of two things:
- Nearly everyone fails because, by definition, if too many people are “exceptional”, then exceptional becomes the norm
- The few who do succeed often feel more isolated and estranged from their peers than before
Therefore you have a group of people who never quite feel good enough, hold themselves up to those who are exceptional and will always find themselves wanting; and you have a group or people who are exceptional yet often feel misunderstood and consequently are often lonely!
Remember the next time you are listening to the latest hit business coach or personal-growth guru: take it all in stride. Whether you’re a freelancer or not, it’s great to reach for excellence, but you don’t need to be perfect to be a success in your profession or to live a fulfilling life. You just have to be good enough.
It’s just good to be aware of this alternate point-of-view, since we tend to focus intently upon topics like success and excellence here at Thrilling Heroics. Don’t stop reading those encouraging success stories in Forbes, or listening to those empowering Tony Robbins tapes! But it’s important to keep a balance, and realize you don’t have to compare yourself too closely with the richest, most powerful, strongest, or most “successful” people in the game!
Source: Why Being an ‘Average’ Freelancer Might Just Be Enough [FreelanceSwitch]
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February 5th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
That’s a great viewpoint and so obvious, but I think most of us miss it. Only a small percentage of people will be viewed as exceptional in any given endeavor, but that will never invalidate the contributions of everyone else.
I consider myself a normal guy and I never really thought I would want to be considered exceptional by the masses. As long as those I am close to feel I am exceptional (which I am by simple virtue of my uniqueness), then I don’t need more.
Thanks for sharing this and hopefully bringing some balance to some people’s lives.
February 6th, 2008 at 4:13 am
I guess for me it is to create challenging goals for yourself give it your best effort but don’t forget to take days off, vacations, have fun with your life.
Young Entrepreneur Society from the http://www.YoungEntrepreneurSociety.com