Be Better Than Average

When you look around, who do you see? When I say the word surrounding, I don't mean your current  surroundings. I am referring to the surroundings of your life. Who surrounds you? Do your surroundings consists of positive, uplifting people who encourage and support everything you do? Are the people in your life sad and want to bring you down to their level? Are you surrounded by people who thrive to live a life full of mediocrity? Who surrounds you?

Growing up, I wasn't surrounded by the best people I could be. I had a loving mother who would do anything she could for me. I couldn't ask for a better mom. With the exception of her and a couple family members, the majority of people in my life did not support me. This includes, but are not limited to teachers, counselors, mentors, family members, friends, peers, students, coworkers, bosses, and romantic dating partners.

Many people from my past tried to keep me from achieving the things I wanted to. These people thought the best way to live life was to settle for average. It was okay to perform at the level everyone else did. Being an over-achiever was looked down upon. When I consistently perform well, it has been seen as me being too competitive. Most people thought that I should lower my expectations. In my heart, I knew this was wrong. I've always been a go-getter. When you think about the people who love to accomplish a lot, that's me. When most of my friends and family members were B and C students, I was the A student. Have these people ever impacted the decisions I've made? Yes, they have. I am not proud of it. The times they did were not an accurate reflection of me, but I still chose to lower my standards.

Overtime, I've had to clean shop. I've learned to take mediocrity with a grain of salt. When I fall asleep at night, mediocrity is not on my mind. What's on my mind are what I accomplished for the day and the people I love. If you remember one thing, remember this: You cannot control who comes into your life, but you can control how you act and react to them.