Mediocrity Keeps Me Sane

A few years back I wrote a blog post that was picked up by another website. Basically it discussed the perils of perfectionism, but after the submission was approved they asked that I change the title. Apparently "Mediocrity, Let's Celebrate" was not quite the vibe they had in mind.

Interesting isn't it--this concept of mediocrity being unacceptable? We live in a world of social media that seems to put the best foot (body/house/wardrobe) forward and more often than not, overlooks the mundane. If you've been following my blog for very long I think it's pretty clear that I do, in fact, celebrate mediocrity. I'm convinced the older I get, that this societal quest for achievement, excellence and perfection is actually contributing to the rise in anxiety and depression.

Is it wrong to be good at something? Of course not! I'm pretty decent at some things: planning events, fundraising, and building connections through relationships. I believe the Lord has blessed me with those talents and it would be a shame to not develop them. But if all I ever did was post about how much money I raised, or how successful an event was or the fun people I get to hang with, you'd get a pretty narrow view of what my life is like. The truth is I'm pretty average, and often downright terrible at any number of things.

So just for fun, here's a few:

1. COOKING: ok--no big surprise here. It's common knowledge that we consume a large amount of bean and cheese burritos, Costa Vida, and Wendys. I could change this if I tried a little harder. I just don't want to.

2. PICKING GIFTS: I'm a terrible gift giver. Like, really bad. When people ask me my kid's favorite candy/color/movie/whatever I never know. Being observant is not my strong suit and this makes finding the perfect gift pretty near impossible. I wish I was better and if I put my mind to it, I could probably remedy this situation.  Probably..

3. TRADITIONS:  You know those families that have super cool holiday traditions?  Yeah--we don't. One time the missionaries asked us what fun traditions we had for conference weekend and the kids thought for a loooong time and the only thing they came up with was "well, sometimes if Mom remembers we get Costco muffins."

4. PICKING PAINT COLORS (or any other decorating adventure): One need only to see my recent minor freak out when I came home and saw my newly painted blue house. I was so concerned about it that I called Dave who calmly said, "If you don't like it we'll just pay to have it repainted." That there, is true love people. And then, as I'm standing in front of the house watching as the worker is about to paint my door yellow I had another minor freak out which brought the painting to a halt as I expressed fear that we were going to look like over zealous sports team fans, what with the blue house and bright yellow door. Thank heavens that Carlos had the where with all to tell me "It's ok Miss. We paint the house yellow today. You don't like it, we paint it white tomorrow."  God bless that Carlos.

So there it is--4 things I really sort of stink at. And you know what? I'm ok with it. It makes me, well...me. When we figure out that we don't have to be perfect at everything, or even most things, then we learn to accept and love ourselves for all that we are. Is Carlos telling his family about the crazy lady that he worked for the other day? Probably.  Do my children return a good number of the gifts I get them? Pretty much. Does the staff at Costa Vida know my order by heart? Most definitely. Do I mind? You know...not really.

Mediocrity:  Let's Celebrate!