This thread is what happens when the "self-esteem movement" in America's schools and culture clashes with reality.
How do you settle with a life of mediocrity?
Be the best at mediocrity. I plan to have "Here lies the most average person ever noticed" on my home depot sold, cement, golden retriever head stone.
Everybody has some sort of talent you just have to find it or learn to find it! The current educational system is especially good at demotivating people from developing certain talents.
Everyone's name eventually enters the ether of eternity; it just takes longer for some. For you and me, we'll be forgotten in a generation or two, three if we're lucky. Names like Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar have endured through history, but even they will be forgotten eventually.
There is a big difference between being special and being an individual. You are your own unique person, but there are nearly 7 billion other unique people that are just like you. Besides, what makes someone special? I'm taller than average, have a higher than average IQ, and I'm autistic, and that makes me special, but not to the world; I'm only special to those close to me. The sooner you learn that the earth is a cold dead place and that the only warmth is found in those close to you, the better off you will be. Call it bleak if you want, but just remember that a cynic is what an idealist calls a realist.
Get your priorities straight. Take care of and appreciate your loved ones and they will remember you when you pass on.
"Either you are best or you are trash", who taught you that kind of nonsense? I feel insulted reading your post.
Welcome to real life.
Not being the absolute best != mediocrity. Purge that thought from your head now. You are going to be better than others at some things, and others are going to be better than you. I'm a pretty smart guy - I did very well in school. I wasn't under the impression that I was the smartest person in the world, but when I hit the work force, I met a lot of people smarter than me. It's pretty humbling. However, just because someone is smarter than you, it doesn't mean that you're shit; it doesn't mean that you can't contribute. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. I'm a decent coder, but socially, I'm completely inept. Better at one thing, worse at another. For a gaming analogy, I've got a decent score in Pacifism in Geometry Wars 2, in the top 1000 (last I checked), but I'm terrible at Waves." So up untill now like every other child ever I thought I was special or had the potential of climbing to the top. But as inevitable as the tides everyone must eventually grow up to realize that, there is nothing you truly excel at and therefore is destined to a life of mediocrity. Now I am having some trouble and have a hard time accepting the fact that I do not have any outstanding talent, my name will not be remembered nor written in any history books. Heck when I die nobody will probably remember me at all, and the thought of that just depresses me as I have always been a believer in "either you are best or you are trash." So as I am feeling pretty helpless and I guess desperate since I am asking an internet forum about this, how did you guys accept mediocrity? "
As for the 'being remembered throughout history' thing, I'll be blunt: get over it. Think of how many names from history you can recall. I've got $10 that says you can't remember 1000 people that made a mark on history. You know why? There are nearly 7 billion people on the planet alive today, and billions that have lived in the past. Even people with great accomplishments are forgotten. Who was the 12th president of the US? Sure, you might know the answer, but many won't be able to remember. It's a fact that's been relegated to trivia. As in, trivial knowledge. And yet, there's only been 44 of them. The odds of being a person that will be remembered throughout history are millions to one against.
This is absolute fucking bullshit. If you honestly believe that, then billions of people are "trash". People have worth in just being people. Believing people are trash has led to some of the greatest atrocities the world has known."either you are best or you are trash."
This isn't a race, you aren't trying to beat everyone in the world. You are human, part of a society. You want to be remembered? Make a difference in someone's life. Do something kind for someone.
If you are so worried about being remembered, think of it this way. In a million years, a billion, a trillion - no one will remember "Bill Gates." No one will remember "Adolf Hitler." No one will even remember "Jeff Gerstmann." No one will be remembered for eternity.
I urge you to read The Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan. Hell, just read the small quote that accompanies the image.
I embrace what you call mediocrity - look at my user name. I'm no one in particular, but I'm still someone. I'm a part of something.
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