Bursting Free Of Mediocrity

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“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices
but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence.” - Albert Einstein

One of the first lessons in life we should be taught is the 80/20 principle with all of its ramifications. One of them is, that twenty percent of the people accomplish eighty percent of what matters in this world. We are absolutely surrounded by a majority of people who are mediocre. Once we have accepted that notion, the playing field because crystal clear. Many disbeliefs or incorrect notions we have vanish. We become invigorated to create, and accomplish and thereby succeed.

Unfortunately because we are surrounded by a majority of mediocre people, we are desensitized to the truth. We begin to believe the falsehoods that are set up to make us fail. We accept and eternalize negative thoughts very early in life unless we are fortunate enough to have been supported by strong positive open parents. As we grow we are not open ourselves, and we by default become prejudiced in our views, unable to see the vantage point of others and therefore become judgmental and can’t seem to accept the differences in others. Life outside of the mediocre template does not compute!

Most of mankind never learns to think for themselves; instead they accept what knowledge is passed down to them without questioning the validity of such knowledge. It is easier to follow the crowd, so eighty percent of the people do twenty percent of the meaningful work. If there is a class system in our country, perhaps it should be blamed mostly on the fact that we have encouraged mediocrity. Albert Einstein saw this as his quote indicates.

If you are experiencing opposition to new ideas you have, recognize that it is coming from mediocre minds. When I taught pre-employment skills to my students who were moving from welfare to work, I often encountered students who after attending my class for just several days would experience violent opposition from their significant others at home. The truth is, my students were being exposed to self-motivating materials and as soon as they tried to break the mold at home, they got knocked down; some literally beaten for their attempt to change for the better.

Change is not easy, but if we are to progress as our Maker would want us to, we must break free from the mediocrity that surrounds us. We must step outside our comfort zones and dare to follow our dreams. We will experience opposition, this is an eternal principle. As the sun rises, expect it to happen to you. But we must be courageous and understand that our loved ones are feeling uncomfortable seeing us change for the better. We must allow them some room to accept what is happening; but never at the cost of abandoning our dreams. There may be a time when relationships may have to be severed in order to be free to act in our own behalf to further our growth. If this happens be consoled knowing that your actions to improve yourself are rubbing off on others and you are in affect helping others to change as well; maybe even your loved ones who need to be freed from mediocrity.

{Power Phrase Tip for Remembering Quote: “Great spirits encounter opposition from mediocre minds.”}

John Cyr is a retired workforce development trainer and motivational consultant who writes articles and editorials under the pen-name Johnny Cyreous, or Cyreous. He maintains a website of quotes by famous people and advocates his method of teaching at www.cyreousquotes.com

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