{"id":35558,"date":"2021-05-26T18:27:28","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T22:27:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=35558"},"modified":"2021-06-06T21:34:12","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T01:34:12","slug":"fear-of-being-average","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/fear-of-being-average\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fear of Being Average: You’re Not Exceptional"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why do so many of us have a fear of being average? How do some people become exceptional? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truth is that you’re probably average, and that’s okay. Very few people are actually extraordinary and the ones who are had to spend a lot of time improving themselves. For the bulk of people, accepting that you’re not special<\/a> will make you mentally healthier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to find out why being average is okay and being exceptional comes with its own set of problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Fear of Being Average<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Technology has solved many problems but also has given us new, mental problems by flooding us with extreme information convincing us that the exceptional is normal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That leaves a lot of people with a fear of being average and with a distorted view<\/a> of themselves. But they feel entitled<\/a> to be noticed, so they become louder and more extreme (self-aggrandizing), or they obsess over celebrities (other-aggrandizing).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve come to believe that being average is being a failure.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If they aren\u2019t extraordinary, some people would rather be below average than just average<\/strong>. If you can\u2019t be the best, being the most victimized and miserable makes you unique in your mind and garners attention \u2014 which seems preferable to being merely average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if everyone is deemed extraordinary, then no one would stand out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, you are probably average at most things that you do<\/strong>. If you excel at something, you\u2019re still probably average or worse at other things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Problem With Being Exceptional<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Becoming exceptional takes enormous time and effort. Because of that, few people become outstanding at anything, let alone at multiple things. It\u2019s not possible to excel at everything in life<\/strong>; brilliant people or celebrities often have major problems in other areas such as home life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The few people who become outstanding do so because they realize they\u2019re mediocre and go all out to improve themselves and excel at something. They obsess over improving themselves because they fear they\u2019re not very good, which stems from a feeling of anti-entitlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be emotionally healthy you need to accept that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n