Mediocrity Is Not a Worthy Goal

It’s easy to be average.

For what it’s worth, “average” can generally be achieved by merely showing up. You don’t have to think deeply, take risks, or challenge yourself. You can float along with what’s familiar, what’s comfortable, what’s expected. Mediocrity is not a worthy goal.

Settling for the status quo ultimately leads to destruction. Not always in obvious ways, more often in slow, quiet ones — the erosion of passion, purpose, growth, and joy. You don’t wake up one Monday and decide to shrink your life. It happens gradually when you stop stretching.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow said, “If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy the rest of your life.”

That isn’t a threat. It’s a mirror. It’s a reminder that deep down, we know when we are living under our potential — and it costs us something internally to stay there. John Maxwell’s Law Of The Rubber Band explains it simply: growth stops when you lose the tension between where you are and where you could be. Once the rubber band goes slack, the stretch disappears. And so does momentum.

The Quiet Cost of “Just Fine”

Average life is rarely loud. It doesn’t announce itself.

Average whispers things like:

• “This is good enough.”

• “I’m too old to change.”

• “It’s safer not to risk it.”

• “I’ll do that someday.”

• “At least I’m not failing.”

“Good enough” becomes a cage if you live there long enough.

The most concerning thing about average isn’t that it’s terrible… it’s that it’s comfortable. Comfortable enough to make you stop asking hard questions. Comfortable enough to keep you from becoming who you’re capable of being.

Stretching Has Benefits

Yet few people want to truly stretch. Why? Stretching isn’t convenient. It disrupts routines. It exposes weaknesses. It challenges identity. It requires humility and effort. James Allen says, “You cannot travel within and stand without.” Stretching always begins inside.

That’s why we say you must learn to lead yourself before you can lead others. If you aren’t willing to stretch internally — your mindset, your habits, your beliefs, your character — then any external “growth” is temporary and fragile. True leadership always starts as self-leadership.

Stretching Requires Change

We must believe we can start again… and that can feel risky. If you stretch, you can’t always predict what will shift around you:

• You can’t predict if those walking with you now will be willing to walk with you as you grow.

• You may outgrow relationships that were built for an older version of you.

• You may outgrow your current position or career.

• You may find yourself needing a new environment for your next level.

Yes — that can feel scary. Despite these risks, the dream is real. It’s never too late to be what you might have been.

Rabbi Nahman asked a question that wakes me up every time I hear it: “If you won’t be better tomorrow than today, then what do you need tomorrow for?” That’s not about perfection. It’s about intention. Life is meant to expand — not because we’re chasing hustle, rather because we’re honoring the potential God placed within us. A better tomorrow doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because you choose stretch over status quo.

You’re Here for a Reason — and You Got Here Honestly

Here’s a grounding truth: You are exactly where you should be in life given everything you have done to get here. Not as a judgment. As a starting point. Your habits, beliefs, relationships, decisions, and fears have all brought you to today. So if your current life feels “average,” it isn’t because you’re incapable — it’s because something in your system has stopped stretching. So the real question becomes: How do you evaluate where you are and where you want to be? That evaluation is the beginning of awakening.

The Power of Your Inner Circle

How many people do you know that truly are seeking to make their life extremely better… not merely more money, a truly better life? Start by examining the five people you surround yourself with as a leader, in your career, or your personal life. You are the average of those five people.

Their mindsets influence your mindset. Their courage influences your courage. Their dreams pull on your dreams — or shrink them. If you want to stretch, you need at least one or two people in your circle who are already stretching and who won’t let you settle.

Average company makes average feel normal. Stretching company makes growth feel possible.

Specific Steps to Amazing Growth

If you’re ready to live beyond average in 2026 (or any season), here are reflection points and action steps to help you regain your stretch.

1. Identify Where You’ve Settled

In what areas of your life have you lost your stretch and settled in?

Look honestly at areas like:

• faith

• health

• marriage or parenting

• friendships

• leadership

• career

• finances

• emotional wellbeing

• personal growth

Settling doesn’t mean failing. It means you’ve drifted into maintenance mode.

2. Clarify Your Potential

Have you been able to define your own potential?

If not, seeking aid in this area from a coach or mentor may be in order.

Potential is hard to see from inside your own habits. Sometimes you need a guide who can help you name what’s possible, and what’s getting in the way.

3. Name Habits That Are Pulling You Back

What habits have you developed that have hindered your progress toward your potential?

Habits are often the invisible ceiling.

Average isn’t usually a motivation problem. It’s a habit problem.

4. Rate Your Satisfaction Honestly

Rate your satisfaction in areas of your life. In what areas have you become “average” and may have lost some stretching?

This isn’t about shame. It’s about awareness.

Naming the truth gives you power to change it.

5. Create Stretching Practices

Create some specific means for stretching in the areas of your life for which you are no longer winning.

Remember to establish a balance between your potential and your present place so that stretching is both possible and challenging. This tension is critical, and you do not want to get so overwhelmed that you give up.

Stretching should feel:

• challenging

• possible

• alive

• just a little scary

• worth it

  
  

6. Make Your Stretch SMART

Your stretching goals should be SMART:

• Specific – words like “more, bigger, faster” are not specific

• Measurable – without measuring, how do you know if you succeeded?

• Attainable – they should be something you WILL actually do

• Realistic – they must be something you CAN actually do

• Timed – without a timed arrival, you are creating a wish list

SMART goals keep stretching from turning into vague wishing.

7. Choose Who Comes With You

Who are the people you want to bring along on your journey? This matters more than most people realize. Stretching is personal, never private. Your growth impacts others. The right people will cheer for you, challenge you, and walk with you. If someone only loves the “average” version of you, they may resist the growing version of you. That doesn’t make them bad — it makes discernment necessary. Pick your inner circle with intention.

Being average is easy.

You were not made for easy. You were made for growth, for purpose, for impact, for depth, for becoming. The world doesn’t need more people who merely show up. It needs leaders who stretch — internally first, then outwardly. Keep the rubber band tight. Keep the tension alive. Keep the stretch in your spirit. It’s never too late to be what you might have been.

I'd love to walk along side you on the journey. Please reach out.

I look forward to chatting with you soon!

Kris

More about Kris: https://www.leadershipharbor.com/kris

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