A good friend of mine, who is an incredibly intelligent, charismatic, and sincere person said that the amazing thing about me–about us as a friends–is that we can just talk about stuff. In the context of our conversation, it meant lots of things including talking about being mediocre, feeling that we should be dissatisfied, etc. I don’t know if he’s right or wrong about that, but it’s something to think about.

I know very few people who feel that they excel at anything, even if they are thought by others to excel. I think that no matter where we are in life, we must always face the possibility that someone could always do better or worse than we have. Michael Phelps, in truth, has competed only against the tiniest fraction of all possible swimmers on earth. For all we know, he is in fact a merely competent swimmer, not really that remarkable at all.

I wonder whether it isn’t circumstances that dictate whether we are truly mediocre–and I’m not talking about what others presume to be mediocrity, but that mediocrity you encounter when you order a dish at a really fancy restaurant and it comes out as something you could have gotten at an upscale family restaurant, that is, not bad but still far short of the mark expected.

On the one hand, I am mediocre because, given my opportunities, I have not performed remarkably. On the other hand, I really enjoy sitting out on the roof on a sunny afternoon, drinking beer, and watch my pasty belly slowly expand. And for an instant, I feel that I’m finally in on the joke that I know my own mediocrity while those in the rat race don’t even have the time to enjoy their own.

Ms. Mediocre, Cyberhugs to you and to all.

I don’t think anyone is mediocre. You sound like me. You aren’t passionate about ONE GIANT thing, but you enjoy this and that and are satisfied with being that way.

I admire someone that says, “NO!” to the traditional American way of life. People will respect you more for it than if you were busting your hump to make meaningless amounts of $$$. Keep going, girlfriend.

I remind her of the Bhagavad Gita which says, “Mother, Father, Teacher, God”.

So long as your children jump into your arms and smile the way they do, you are doing an excellent job as a mother at least.

That makes you one of the more successful people around. Take it easy and don’t be so hard on yourself.

Congratulations on such a fine article and site I have found it very helpful and informative – I only wish that there were more out there like this one.

I never leave empty handed, sometimes I may even be a little disappointed that I may not agree with a post or reply that has been made. But hey! that is life and if every one agreed on the same thing what a boring old world we would live in.

Keep up the good work and cheers.

Thanks for your comments, everyone, they’ve helped me think more about all of this stuff swirling around in my brain.

I feel, that as a stay at home mom, it’s very hard to feel successful. There’s not real cut and dry way to measure my success in that “job” on a day to day basis, and that can make me feel like I’m maybe not doing my best.

I think that too often people get caught up in how things will be better when there’s more money coming in, when they have a house that’s bigger, when they can take cool trips. I think it’s admirable that you don’t seem to have fallen into that trap! You’re content with what you have and where you are in life and that’s wonderful.

If you’re fulfilled doing what you are now, that’s fantastic! Enjoy it! Don’t listen to the outside world. Who says everyone in the outside world is happy and has it all together anyway?