What if I am mediocre and choose to be at peace with that?
What if I all I want is a small, slow, simple life? What if I am most happy in the space of in between? Where calm lives.
The world is such a noisy place. Loud, haranguing voices lecturing me to hustle, to improve, build, strive, yearn, acquire, compete, and grasp for more. For bigger and better. Sacrifice sleep for productivity. Strive for excellence. Go big or go home. Have a huge impact in the world. Make your life count.
But what if I just don’t have it in me? What if all the striving for excellence leaves me sad, worn out, depleted? Drained of joy. Am I simply not enough?
What if all I want is a small, slow, simple life?What if I Never?
What if I never really amount to anything when I grow up—beyond mom and sister and wife? But these people in my primary circle of impact know they are loved and I would choose them again, given the choice. Can this be enough?
What if I never build an orphanage in Africa but send bags of groceries to people here and there and support a couple of kids through sponsorship? What if I just offer the small gifts I have to the world and let that be enough?
What if I don’t want to write a cookbook or build a six figure business or speak before thousands? But I write because I have something to say and I invest in a small community of women I care about and encourage them to love and care for themselves well. Because bigger isn’t always better and the individual matters. She is enough.
A simple life can bring you a sense of contentment.Acceptance of Mediocrity
What if I just accept this mediocre body of mine that is neither big nor small? Just in between. And I embrace that I have no desire to work for rock hard abs or 18% body fat. And I make peace with it and decide that when I lie on my deathbed I will never regret having just been me. Take me or leave me.
What if I am a mediocre home manager, who rarely dusts and mostly maintains order and makes real food but sometimes buys pizza and who is horrified at moments by the utter mess in some areas of her home? Who loves to menu plan and budget but then breaks her own rules and pushes back against rigidity. Who doesn’t care about decorating and fancy things. Whose home is humble but safe.
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Am I Enough?
What if I am not cut out for the frantic pace of this society and cannot even begin to keep up? And see so many others with what appears to be boundless energy and stamina but know that I need tons of solitude and calm, an abundance of rest, and swaths of unscheduled time in order to be healthy. Body, spirit, soul healthy. Am I enough?
A humble home supports you to create a safe space to restore.What if I am too religious for some and not spiritual enough for others? Non-evangelistic. Not bold enough. Yet willing to share in quiet ways, in genuine relationships, my deeply rooted faith. And my doubts and insecurities.
This will have to be enough.
Embrace Limitations
And if I have been married 21 years and love my husband more today than yesterday but have never had a fairy tale romance and break the ‘experts’ marriage rules about doing a ton of activities together and having a bunch in common. And we don’t. And we like time apart and time together. Is our marriage good enough?
What if I make peace with who I am and what I need.What if I am a mom who delights in her kids but needs time for herself and sometimes just wants to be first and doesn’t like to play but who hugs and affirms and supports her kids in their passions? A mediocre mom who can never live up to her own expectations of good enough, let alone yours.
What if I embrace my limitations and stop railing against them? Make peace with who I am and what I need and honor your right to do the same. Accept that all I want is a small, slow, simple life. A mediocre life. A beautiful, quiet, gentle life.
I think it is enough.
Reading this was like music to my ears, because I am like the writer and I’m actually content with not wanting a lot. Thanks for sharing your feelings and your life with the world. Thanks for being honest and vocal. Others that feel much like you can take comfort in knowing that it’s ok to be and desire mediocracy. Obviously not everyone feels this way and wants mediocracy and that’s okay.
I don’t get it … REALKY happy for those that ARE content & happy with their lives – j just want more /different & that’s ok. I DO want to write a book & Speak & am making that happen.
I wish I could just feel content now, happy for you – we are all different … ❤️
Love this! ??
You’re great simply as you are.
” beati i poveri di spirito, perché loro sará il regno del cielo”
Silence!! Writer!!
Thank you for writing this. These words need to be shared. As an “solopreneur” I am bombarded daily with ads to boost my business to 6 figures, hire out help etc. I have always been content with keeping my business smaller and more manageable so I can continue to enjoy the other things in life that I am passionate about. It’s my passion to help my clients create balance in their own lives too.
I am enough. I enjoy keeping my life simpler. We are all enough just as we are.
Sara Valentine Women’s Wellness and Lifestyle Coach
This is exactly how I feel
This is exactly what I’ve been feeling.
Some of this was alarming. The part about not wanting to play with your kids but you want their hugs. That was the cherry on top for me. Sounds like she’s not living and trying to make peace with her misery.
I rarely read blogs, but when I do – I am always amazed. Excellent thoughts.
I love everything about this post. It’s clear how this life is not mediocre at all. This life makes the ordinary extraordinary. You make me fall in love with my life as it is, thank you.
Perfectly said. Thank you for speaking to what is in my heart.
Me……my life,
I absolutely love and resonate with this piece! I thought I was the only one that truly felt this way! Would love to meet others that feel the same ❤️
I am a Mum, wife, sister, daughter, auntie friend – jobs I do with integrity but I never feel I am enough. I have had ME for 24 years which has made achieving anything very difficult but I do everything to the best of my ability.
If the life you describe fills you with peace and contentment then yes,it’s enough.
Mediocre in the sense of average life with no sense of lust for luxuries. Really soothing piece.
Let go of it people. Realize this, the point, if I may, is to live ones life free of the judgment of others. Get it? Absolutely spot on.
Truly ‘uplifting ‘!
Totally resonates with me.
Read the life of st. Theresa liseaux. Love, life beauty is in the simple little tasks of life. Every little thing we do can honor the beauty and goodness of life.
And that’s all I want, peace , health and love.. The beauty of a simple life
Yes! It is ok for some of us to strive for a calm, mindful, peaceful life to help give balance to those who feel driven to strive for more. It is the way of the universe to create its own balance and is important for each of us to seek to understand how we help achieve this balance.
Beautiful, thank you. But why do you say at the end: that “accept your limitations”. Do you see all that you describe above about yourself as a limitation? .
I think more people who can live this way would really be happy on all levels.
Great inspiring piece.
A nice piece
Let not the excess of lusts and comfort mislead you, this world is not yours. I believe this article distorts the truth to serve itself, to oppose understanding. I believe in man. Man will maintain his greatness. Have this faith. And while you choose comfort in the face of a scary world, know that a special few with a very unique courage are striving to make progress, to make the world great, the one that allows you and just about everyone else live in mediocrity. A mediocre life is not, by any standard, unacceptable in today’s society. Mediocrity is the totality of the modern world. I’m disappointed. However, if you don’t care to attempt to make a positive impact on the world, at least you will let the world be as you found it.