To be average is to:
1) Arrive at work by 8 a.m. and do just the tasks assigned to you by your boss until 5 p.m. Meet all your targets, and only your targets.
Then miss out on: learning new things that could open your world to more possibilities. Discovering things outside your normal duties that you can excel in, hence becoming more valuable.
2) Move to another job just because they’ve offered you a 20%-30% salary increment. We all know what the bottom line is at the end of the day; its money isn’t it?
Then miss out on: focusing on jobs that help in your long term career growth or those that open up a lot more opportunities. Some experiences are much more valuable in the long run than a small salary increment.
3) Date, form intimate connections with or do business only with members from your community, be it race, tribe or neighbourhood, veer off only to tribes or communities certified “safe” to mingle with by parents and peers.
Then miss out on: valuable relationships that could be your bridge to a higher level of what you’ve been pursuing. Seeing the world from a different perspective from yours, and help correct wrong beliefs deeply entrenched within your community.
4) Only learn and do whatever is in line with your profession. We all know how busy you are. Software developers can’t do event management, they’re introverts! Doctors don’t bake cakes, they have quite a schedule! Why should an accountant learn how to play the guitar? Will all that strumming help in compiling tax return reports?
Then miss out on: doing something you love, something that will ignite your passion and could be the source of an extra income or a path to starting your own unique business.
5) When you travel, stay on the main roads, don’t veer off the recommended restaurants for foreigners, use only cabs because they are safe and eat only what you’re used to back home.
Then miss out on: a lot of opportunities to learn and understand our world in a better way. And you’ll also not know how tasty some dishes like kazora and fried flying ants are.
6) When you take a holiday, follow the rest of the human pack like Wildebeests in the Serengeti to the popular tourist destinations. For Kenyans, that means going to Mombasa’s North Coast or Naivasha’s south beach in December. Why would anyone want to go to Mt Suswa? What is there to see in the Kakamega forest? Where is Lake Natron on the Google Maps anyway? Who cares what Mt Elgon looks like?
Then miss out on: seeing enchanting beauty beyond your imagination, discovering new and more interesting travel destinations that are more likely to be much cheaper. Discovering business opportunities showing up because you dared to explore uncharted territory.
7) When you read the bible, don’t ask the hard biblical questions. God loved Jacob the trickster, but hated Esau the obedient firstborn? The likes of Rachel, Bathsheba and Tamar receive a special mention in the lineage of Jesus and yet they did some crazy and twisted stuff to get there? God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so as to destroy him?
Then miss out on: learning more about the character and nature of God and finding out what He values. Probing the foundations of your faith, understanding doctrine and learning biblical principles that will help you fulfill your purpose.
8) Only get your information from the mainstream news channels and don’t verify. Who trusts all the information that’s flying around these days?
Then miss out on: learning the truth behind every story. Main news channels in this age are the personification of vested interests. Dig out the stories of what’s happening around the world before they’re sanitized and modified to project a certain image or advance a certain (most likely well funded) cause.
9) For the singles, go home and spend 4 hours every evening passively watching TV, then comment on the “shocking news” and soap opera twists on Facebook and Twitter before going to bed. That’s just what you need to unwind from a hard day at work, right?
Then miss out on: more interesting entertainment options available. It’s better to see DVDs of shows that really interest you instead of taking whatever junk the CRT or LCD tube throws at you. You can read an interesting book, catch up with friends … there are tons of activities that you can substitute for depressing political news and poorly scripted soaps that dominate early evening living rooms.
10) Get offended by some of these questions because they’re trying to challenge tested and proven solid beliefs.
Then miss out on: a chance to learn new things that will help you become a better person. Also, you bypass an opportunity to correct wrong beliefs.
Average is safe, but average is miserable. Average is encouraged by the world but average isn’t rewarded by the same world. Average ensures you don’t get into trouble but average makes sure you won’t live your life to the fullest.
Inspired by: Zen Pencils Comics: How to be average
