Mediocrity is Debilitating

I have always believed that people with low expectations or a “do just enough to get by” attitude can poison the water for a community, company or personal network if not contained. These are the folks who are the first to criticize concepts that push boundaries or challenge you when you attempt to stretch past what’s practical or seemingly realistic.

If success only required that you stick to what is practical, I could point to a number of companies and people who shouldn’t have made it, including me. To move past mediocrity, we have to be able to dream, push and challenge the status quo. We have to confront issues and barriers that can hold us back from achieving excellence. Mediocrity suggests we stumble into the future by sticking to the current playbook; excellence requires that we innovate and create it.

For our next generation, we need boldness and energy from parents, students and onlookers who demand excellence from our educational systems. We can and will achieve better outcomes for our children, our future workforce and region’s human capital. But to do so, we have to set aside mediocrity and adopt a posture of excellence.