# A Campaign for Mediocrity By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2024-01-19 According to their mission statements, nearly every organization wants to be the best at something. They strive to provide the best customer service, the highest quality products, the most excellent return on investment, or the most fulfilling experience. We've become so accustomed to this that we don't give it a second thought. We are aware of these statements but also fully aware that almost all of them fail to achieve it beyond a momentary blip in human history, if at all. So, what is the obsession with greatness and being the best? It's partly driven by popular, if not wrong, narratives related to capitalism and evolution. Here, we embrace the mantra of survival of the fittest. Thus, one should strive to be the greatest at something to survive and thrive. However, being the greatest is probabilistically unattainable and unsustainable. One is likelier to win the lottery than being the greatest at something. While "greatness" perpetuates the economic development of a particular value meme, it does little in the realm of stability, mental health, and solidarity. What if instead of "greatness," organizations and people were satisfied with achieving "mediocrity?" This pivot would not prevent greatness from emerging. After all, by definition, something or someone will always be the "greatest." If one wakes up today to discover they are the greatest, that should be celebrated as an achievement with all the socioeconomic benefits. This perpetuates the "material wealth" needed to keep humanity from unnecessary physical suffering. But, if one is satisfied with mediocrity, greatness is merely a pleasant surprise. The reality, as discussed earlier, is the odds of greatness are minimal. On the other hand, mediocrity is, by definition, obtainable by most people. Accepting mediocrity positions one to be content and able to reach higher mental, emotional, and existential states. This shifts one's attention away from the self, and towards the world one inhabits. The pendulum has swung too far in the direction of greatness. Now is the time for mediocrity to provide a more coherent balance to the human condition of being. I look forward to the day an organization's mission statement reads, "We aspire to be mediocre in all things to perpetuate the progression of humanity." I can think of nothing greater. #### Related Items [[Mediocrity]] [[Mission Statements]] [[Economics]] [[Society]] [[Greatness]] [[Goals]] [[Organization]] [[Mental Health]] [[Progress]]