By the time this gets posted Donald Trump may or may not be President of the United States. There is no doubt over the past year he has said some dumb shit. Even his most avid supports would agree. There is one thing he said that I'd like to bring attention to.

You have to think anyway, so why not think big?
- Donald Trump

 The Reason 

The reason I'm posting this is there seems to be a current trend emerging where it is not only okay to be average but that one should strive to be average.

let's first look at what the word means.

source: Dictionary.com

AVERAGE
noun
1. a quantity, rating, or the like that represents or approximates an arithmetic mean:
Her golf average is in the 90s. My average in science has gone from B to C this semester.

2. a typical amount, rate, degree, etc.; norm.

If you want to read all the other variations you can look it up later but anyone reading this should know what the word means.

Playin' in the NFL

It was not long agothat  pee wee coaches were trying to explain to all the kids that they were not all going to be professional athletes, as the kids all aspired to be. Today athletes play a season and decide to not play again, or in strength sports will lift in a powerlifting meet or strongman contest without training for it and decide the sport's not for them. I addressed THIS issue HERE.

Fun, Fun, Fun.... Fuck Fun

There has been a progression (or regression) of the advice that's imparted on strength athletes and the mindset that goes along with it. Initially, it started with the idea that it's not ALL about the event but the journey to get there- that it's a marathon and not a sprint. It moved to teaching that it's all about the event with no effort put into the journey. It has now morphed into what seems to be "let's have an awesome fun-filled journey". I'm not saying to not enjoy the process but when it's ALL about only seeking joy in the process... you will suck when the time comes to display your work. The process is also filled with pitfalls, adversity, drama, pain, sacrifice, commitment, hurt, anger, rage, disappointment, and far more negatives than positives. This is the nature of the beast. This is how we grow, become better, and strive to become great.

... but are we striving to become great?

Years ago I came up with what I call (or at least think) are the four stages of success; shit-suck-good-great.

SHIT

SUCK

GOOD

GREAT

Oh Shit!?

We all begin at shit. This is worse than suck because to suck you first need to try. To be shit you don't even need to try. We are born to shit and we will die still shitting. To go from shit to suck is a HUGE step. Sometimes I think that we in the strength and fitness industry take this for granted. The person who has been out of shape for years finally decides to join a gym and walks through the door. This is a HUGE step and that is way outside their comfort zone. If they decide they want to powerlift they hire a coach or find a local group to train with. That is also a huge step foward.

From Suck to Good

To move from suck to good is not a huge step. It's taking a shit ton of very small steps consistently day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year.  With every step you take, you have a choice. You can take a step back to revisit basic skills, you could stay where you are to hammer in your current skills, or you could take that step to the next level- which would force you into the unknown. Making these decisions is one of the things that you have control of.

Frame of Reference

What it really comes down to is this:

What is your frame of reference?

What do you THINK is shit, suck, good and great?

One person may look at the best in the sport and say they are "great" and then this becomes their point of reference. It becomes their top 25% range. If you break this out evenly than;

25% - shit
25% - suck
25% - good
25% - great

This would put the average somewhere right between suck and good and for most sports I think everyone would agree this is where the majority of ALL participants fall. I will say that categorizing the top 25% of any sport as "great" may be a stretch but not if you break down that top 25% into it's own four sections with the best of the best being at the top 5-7%.

What's the Point?

The point is how YOU see this. If you are one that strives to NOT want to be the best, to not want to be great but are okay with being good, then what?

If the average is based on the definition presented then those who fall in the suck to great range fall there NOT because they don't want to or are not trying to be great. MANY are busting their asses to be great. They are there because this is just where they happen to fall statistically. Now where would they be if they were only trying to be good? They will suck and will always suck and that's NOT because of genetics, coaching, programming, or drugs but the fundamental lack of desire and will to be the best they can be.

Screw Your Best

Oh, I know, I can already hear it... but it's about being the best YOU can be. RIGHT! I get that but how in the fuck do you know what that is if your point of reference is flawed to begin with? In any strength sport, you never have to look far to find critics and those willing to push you down to make them look better. You don't need to do this to yourself. It's insane to do so. Your potential is far more than you think it is. Most people do more to hold themselves back than anyone else could ever do to them. When you're stuck don't just stand there- pick a direction and go.

When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.
- Confucius

The Hero's Goodbye

The days of sports heroes are gone and will never come back to what they were when I was a kid. Social media has humanized everyone, and those at the top of any game are always under a microscope. They are not perfect, nobody is, but is this really bad? What I see with athletes at the top of their game is that they are human. Yes, they have genetic gifts that exceed others, but they are still human. They are not the super humans we used to make them out to be. They also do a lot of stupid shit and as time goes on the fame they used to enjoy will diminish because they are no longer in the spotlight like they used to be. They walk in the sunlight just like everyone else. Should they be more accountable because of their stats? I think so but that's my view and I know others disagree.

What this does show is what NOT to look up to.  Whatever edge they are getting from their  genetic advantage may be negated by lack of technical skills and bad decision making in the rest of their life. Now, more than ever, we all get to see who they really are. Should this make future athletes want to be less than they are? If so, then their point of reference really sucks.

The White Space

Maybe you don't have the best genetics (how do you really know this unless you train your ass off for years?) but look at many that do. Look at their habits and what they are not doing. Don't look at the narrative but look in the margins and white spaces. Are there things they are missing that you could do better? Could you train harder, focus on your technique more, be more dedicated and persistent? When things come easier for some than others there's a TON of white space if you look close.

At the end of the day, they are not as great as you think they are and you are selling yourself short. Give it time, be smart, work hard, learn from others, give it more time, keep chipping away and adjust your frame of reference.

We have to think big. We have to imagine big, and that's part of the problem. We're letting other people imagine and lead us down what paths they want to take us. Sometimes they're very limited in the way their ideas are constructed. We need to imagine much more broadly. That's the work of a writer, and more writers should look at it.
- Alexis Wright

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