The Mediocrity Trap And How To Avoid It

It is true that what you focus on you get, but only if you focus on your desire long enough and refuse to settle for less. Most people live mediocre lives because they take what comes along out of fear that they won’t get their true desires.

My mistake

I made the mistake of settling for less in my life many times until I learnt that the only reason I was getting what I didn’t really want was because I accepted average options in my life. For example, I would decide to only associate with positive, like-minded people who love what they do and thrive, but when I would meet someone below those standards I would still decide to hang out with such person. So basically I would set a goal but then accept something else and so fill in the space for my desire with a less desirable option.

I fell into this mediocrity trap so many times that I started seeing the pattern. Once I understood that it’s a universal law, I finally stopped doing that and started winning the game of life. So let me put this mediocrity trap in easy words so that you would understand it fully and not make this mistake again:

The mediocrity trap is the situation where you decide to go for your desire but some less desireable option comes along and you take it. Thus you have no space left for your original desire and so you don’t get it.

That’s the story of most people. For example, they end up in undesirable relationships because they are scared that they will end up alone or would be unable to attract their perfect mates. It’s only them to blame. Because they didn’t take the risk of not having their desires fulfilled (which is not a risk if you know the law), now they pay big time.

Look at your life as a game. It should be fun to play it and learn from it – don’t get too dramatic about what’s happening in your life. Go for big goals and search for universal laws in every situation you are faced with. This way your life becomes exciting and fun rather than boring and dull.

I know it takes faith and some form of risk to refuse quite a good option (but not the option you would really like to take). But that’s the price you need to pay if you want to eventually get what you really desire. So have a desire worth having and refuse to take anything less than it!

Is your goal worth going for?

I will tell you a story which illustrates that the quality of your desire is very important.

When I started writing self improvement articles, after a few months or so I decided to review some books. I did that because I enjoy reading books so I thought, why not to share my views about them, and also to create an extra passive income source (from amazon commissions). I didn’t receive any commissions from this new activity for quite a long time. However I refused to give up and I kept reviewing books with the unwavering faith that this will turn into a stable passive income source. A few more months passed by and – surprise, surprise – the income started rolling in. Had I quit it, I probably even now wouldn’t know that amazon affiliate scheme is a great passive income stream.

But now as I think about it, I understand that this goal wasn’t big enough. If I would focus this time I spent on creating my own product, I might have benefited more people and earned more money. So although I got the exact goal I wanted, the goal, I think, could have been bigger, resulting in bigger returns.

So select the goal you are truly passionate about rather than the one that seems quite good.

Keep a steady focus

Here’s another observation about going for the best. The bigger your goal is, the more the universe will test you whether you really want it. So if you, for example, decide to get a partner of your dreams, it’s very likely that you will meet many “average” and “quite nice” people who would like to date you. But only if you refuse to settle for less will you get what you really want – eventually.

If your goal is small, then the universe will test you one or a few times before handing your ultimate desire. If you don’t believe this is the case, just try it and you will see.

Even when it looks like there’s no way you can get what you really want, you still need to focus only on your desire and refuse to accept any other options. You cannot know what’s in store for you because you cannot see what’s happening beyond this physical world. The universe is the intelligence, so don’t concern yourself about how you will get what you want – you will, if you keep your focus on it.

But here’s how people completely ignore this very useful law and thus settle for mediocrity. Let’s take job hunting as an example as it will apply to many. Almost all people search for jobs this way: they open a newsletter and look at all the ads and pick those that appeal to them and then they send their application forms and hope for the best. That’s an approach that is guaranteed to land you a mediocre job.

If you would put this law into action, here’s how you would go about finding a job (I don’t encourage you to find a job in any way, as you may know, but this is a good example). You should decide on your perfect job – the industry, the position, the hours and the pay – and scan the newspaper for such role. If it’s not there, keep searching for it in other sources and be patient. Don’t even apply to positions that look “quite” good. Keep your focus on your ultimate desire. Prepare for it and demand it – it has to manifest sooner or later.

Conclusion

I know it takes a great deal of faith to believe that this principle works all the time. So test it first on something small and this way you will gain trust in the law.

Once you know the law works, you will be so much ahead of those who are ignorant of it. You will know that if you really want something, you will need to refuse to take other options until you have it. Other options fill in the place of your desire and thus there’s no place for what you really want. Nature abhors vacuum and so if you refuse to fill it with average options and keep your focus on what you really want, you will have it sooner or later.

So don’t make the mistake of considering secondary options or things you will do if you don’t get what you want – such strategies keep people mediocre. Be different and you will get outstanding results. Use this law to your advantage instead of getting used by it or ignoring it. It will pay off!

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