Mediocrity Is My Superpower

Have Your Mediocrity Propel You, Not Hold You Back

Hey guys,

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

In this week's issue, let's take a break from the technical stuff I have been writing lately. I just want to share something personal that might resonate with you or help in some way.

Let me go first by saying,

Being Mediocre Is a Gift

And as to why, here’s why;

I was at the top of my class from elementary to high school.
I got into one of the best—if not the best—universities in the country.
I didn’t have to pay tuition, and on top of that, I was on a scholarship that gave me a monthly allowance.

But if there’s one thing that remained constant during those years,
it’s that I never left the place of mediocrity.

Yes, I was always at the top of my class, but I was never the best at anything.

Math? Nah. I had classmates whose skills I couldn’t even come close to.
Science? I did better, but there were still plenty who outshined me.
I could draw, but I had a famous artist as a classmate.
I could play sports, but I wasn’t an athlete.
I was good at esports—completed several times—but I wasn’t on the level of another who was exceptional at it.

I always thought of myself as someone who just got lucky.
Literally lucky.

I used to joke that some mysterious force—maybe an angel—changed my answers right before I turned in my test papers. I knew I wasn’t the best, yet I somehow always ended up near the top, at least in academics, which, for most of my life, that was the thing I poured most of my energy into.

I never failed any qualifying exam. I even always scored the highest (or close to it) among my peers—peers who were so good at certain subjects that they were literally famous for it.

But despite all that, I knew I was mediocre. Not above average. Just… good old average.

Not bad, but certainly not good.

I knew my limits well.

I had seen how good people my age could get—how smart, how skilled and I know I am nowhere near from those at the top. Sure, some thought I was good, and I wasn’t just assuming—I heard them say it. But I always felt like I had to try harder than most just to get the results I wanted, or get the results that actually “good” people still get without even trying.

And even then, I never set my expectations too high.

There was a point when I hated this constant state of mediocrity. No matter how much effort I put in, I felt like I wasn’t climbing any higher.

I was just the same old me—almost there, but never quite.

The pressure to become better, to be that person and the frustration that came with knowing I couldn't seem to be better—yet couldn't afford to be any less—was relentless. Somehow it was paralyzing.

Going back, school was nearly over, college graduation is near. All grades were in. And I was 0.01 away from being Magna Cum Laude (Second-highest Latin honor awarded to a degree holder).

Again—there, but not quite.

Yeah, it stung a bit. I’d be lying if I said I had no regrets.

If only I had tried a little harder.
If only I had sacrificed a little more.
If only I had been just a bit smarter.

But I got over it. I left it with the rest of my regrets and moved on.

Got busy again, and since I majored in microbiology, and to officially become a microbiologist, I had to pass a certification exam. Four months of prep, exam day came, results came out.

First, the list of passers. I was on it.
A few days later, the numerical scores were released.

And again—I was TWO points away (in terms of average) from making it to the Top 10.

THE TOP 10!

Again, There, but not quite.

If I had made it, it would’ve been a huge boost to my career. Top 10 in the country? The benefits, the opportunities—it would’ve been great.

But this time, I didn’t care one bit.

I took the test, I passed, and I got a good score. That was more than enough. I only ever wanted to pass.

Let’s be clear here, this is not to say that I am as good as my almost.

This is not to justify anything or claim things that I am not.

If anything, this is me making it clear that my results reflect my exact capabilities. The results are accurate, and there is no one else responsible for them but me.

But also I finally recognized that: Sure, I could've done better, but I don't think these results are purely due to a lack of effort.

They are the sum of all the choices I made along the way. Perhaps the reason I couldn't push harder or stay as disciplined as I envisioned was simply because my discipline had its own limits.

My results at any given time was exactly what my state of self at that time could accomplish.

And there's nothing wrong with that—it just means I have a lot of growing to do.

From these experiences, I realized—it’s not like I wasn’t moving forward.

I was moving.

It just doesn’t feel like growth because every step, every level, I was jumping into a new playing field.

Each time, I was surrounded by even smarter, even better people. In university, I met more brilliant minds than ever before. Sure, in some circles, I might’ve been considered above average. But at every new level, I was just another normal Joe.

The pressure and loathing I felt about mediocrity?

Nothing but an incomplete perspective.

Me being mediocre this whole time actually made me more resilient, made me more optimistic and realistic.

I realized—being mediocre isn’t a bad thing. Knowing and accepting it simply means being aware of where you currently stand. It’s natural—sometimes you’re at the top, most of the time you’re not, and often, you’re just almost, almost at the bottom or almost at the top whatever it is, it’s okay.

Being in the middle lets you see both worlds.

I've met incredibly smart people who were so advanced that they became incomprehensible to those around them because they assumed everyone thought as quickly and sharply as they did. And I've met people on the other end of the spectrum who couldn't even grasp the vast skill and knowledge gap unfolding before them.

And as a mediocre person on average, I can somehow make sense of it all, at least a part of it because at some point I have been on both ends.

As ironic as it sounds, accepting mediocrity has allowed me to stop viewing the world through a scale of capabilities.

I know I used to measure everything that way, but I’ve since let go of it—not just because there will always be someone better, making that pursuit an endless and unnecessary pressure, but also because letting go has made my self-worth solid, no longer something arbitrary and dictated by the world around me.

I now see that being mediocre is not a limitation—it’s a vantage point.

And that’s a gift, but still a double edged sword

Accepting mediocrity helped me see of how good people can get—and how good I actually was— both pushed me to work harder but it also in some way held me back, too.

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That is all for today! Wishing you all a great week ahead! Thank you so much for reading up until here! 😊

- Frey

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Thanks for reading, and see you in the comments. 😊