Challenging Average
Challenging Average
Current Events
As I write, so many things flood my mind that plague the world and/or create obstacles for all of us who live in it. I consider how difficult these obstacles and how insurmountable they appear. I can’t help sometimes but to wonder why and sometimes even question these events or experiences. Sometimes it makes me weary and there have been times when I have wondered whether or not it’s even worth all of the effort. Nevertheless, one thing I am certain of, “opposition is the indication that you are headed in the right direction.” I truly believe that the obstacle is the way. If you have not read this book by Ryan Holiday, I would recommend it. Life’s experiences have shown me that life is truly a journey, to who we really are. Shameless Plug: Journey to the Y in You (written by yours truly) is another timeless read and may be more relevant now than it was when it was published.
The Nature of Obstacles
What do I mean when I say that “the obstacle is the way? C.S. Lewis said “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” The truth is that the obstacles do a few things in our lives:
Obstacles reveal.
Obstacles have the capacity to reveal things around us that we may not have been able to see prior to the obstacle. Obstacles are lessons, or teachers for us. If life is a journey, the journey requires that we know certain things and knowing those things help us to take further steps forward.
Obstacles also have the capacity to reveal things about ourselves that we didn’t know or were not aware of prior to the obstacle. Journey to the Y in You reveals how the obstacles show us ourselves, good, bad or otherwise. When we understand WHO we are, then we become an unstoppable force.
Obstacles restore.
Obstacles can remind you of who you are.
Obstacles can show you something about you that you may have never seen or known previously.
Obstacles remind.
Obstacles reinforce your unique value.
Obstacles indicate you’re still “here.”
Obstacles remove.
Obstacles can lighten your load. They may help you to be able to see what you don’t need, what may be weighing you down and keeping you from flying or rising.
Obstacles can be a reality check. They may remove the very things I thought I needed most.
Shifting gears slightly, how do the above understanding help us? Well, the truth of the obstacles…the experiences of our lives, the additions, the losses (which may not truly be losses) equip us with the understanding of how we become stronger through those obstacles. Why do we become stronger? I truly believe it is because we are meant to do above-average things. We are destined to be great, in whatever capacity and as such, that requires strengthening.
I think about the plethora of new knowledge I have gained in the past two years around gardening, agriculture and horticulture. I think about plants and trees and their ability to “lean towards the light.’ I think about the obstacles that even plants and trees face in order to grow up and be fruitful. The variety of obstacles that plant life has to withstand or grow through, results in a stronger plant or tree. Even losing leaves or stem parts, also known as pruning, are actually beneficial to the plant or tree because the plant becomes bushier and more productive, while the tree understands that it needs to grow more. Obstacles are the way to growth. Growth happens physically, as in the trees, but also inwardly as well. When the tree stretches out its branches, that’s growth. When the plant bears flowers, fruit and/or seeds, that’s growth. This is their opportunity to be great, producing more after its own kind through its seeds or seed-bearing fruit.
An Anecdote
On February 26, 2022, I engaged in conversation with my brother Dio and the conversation shifted to the kids, namely my nephew Z, who, as long as I can remember, has been busy being “great.” Time flies quickly and Z is now 11 years old (soon to be 12) and has his hands in everything. He plays soccer, he is playing the trumpet, has taken part in martial arts and is constantly trying something new. You might say that he inspired this writing today. I’d go as far as to say that the world might take some notes from him. He has impeccable character, zeal and genuinely loves to learn.
Z Challenges Average
I find it very interesting how both Z and I are middle children, meaning that we are in the middle of our families, as “middle’ born of all of the children.
What is Average?
I’d like to, if I can, operationally define average. Average may mean something completely different depending on who’s defining it. However average seems to suggest that a greater capability exists beyond what is being represented or demonstrated. Average may not look or sound the same to one person as it does to another. As we look at our own lives to reflect, evaluate and dig deep, we know what we are capable of. If we are not aware, we understand that the potential exists for greatness. The potential is there to take those risks, knowing that the risk-taking may lead to open doors and opportunities.
When we look at average, maybe it is interpreted as doing “just enough” and getting the “just enough” reward or doing so, albeit intrinsic or extrinsic. What if average is doing what we have seen everyone else do because that’s all we have seen or is all that we know? What if average is doing something we may not completely like, but know that it’s something to do? Again, average to one person may not be average to another. Inside, I believe we know or are able to determine that we can do more personally, or on the other hand, we know if we have exhausted our abilities to go further. What would happen if we took another step? What if understood that one more step could be all it takes to bring change, transform the minds of people to think and see things in a new way?
Challenge Average
How do you challenge average? So many examples of people exist that did not stop at just living life but lived life in a way as to bring life to and inspire others to do the same. They didn’t settle for ‘just,’ but made a decision to be just a little bit more. And that little bit more changed everything. I have come across this quote many times…”The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is just that little ‘extra.’” (Jimmy Johnson) My dad challenged average. He was 1) the minister, 2) the father of 7, 3) the mechanic, 4) the Army veteran, 5) the brother, 6) the uncle, 7) the grandfather, 8) the hero. When I think about my brother Dio, I don’t see average, I see someone who has decided that he was built for better than average. When I look at my little talented nephew Z, I see a world changer. He was not built for average. When I look at the students I have taught through these 17 years, I can say with certainty that the number includes so many who made choices to be great.
Albert Einstein didn’t speak until he was four years old.
Helen Keller was blind and deaf, yet tipped intelligence scales.
Benjamin Franklin dropped out of school when he was ten.
Stephen King’s first novel was rejected thirty times.
Thomas Edison failed 1,000 times before successfully creating the lightbulb.
Martin Luther King, despite setbacks in his life, became a prominent voice and speaker articulating words and inspiring change.
When I think about these examples, I find it compelling how these individuals were unstoppable. They didn’t stop, yet I am sure they had many opportunities to do so. I would like to think that it may have crossed all of their minds. I’d like to think that perhaps each of these individuals felt like stopping, considered giving up, became tired, questioned if their work was really worth it…got close to throwing in the towel. Yet, despite that, each also understood what was riding on their decisions to press forward and to do something more, something greater than what had been done previously..and not to boast about it, but instead transform people and be a light, model or example for someone else. That example would say that average is a choice…but pushing yourself to do just a little bit more is also a choice, a choice to ‘challenge average,’ the one they made. It will likely help other people as well as yourself.
