Why Average People are Average: A Fun Over Satisfaction Mindset
There is one big reason why average people are average. FUN!!!
That three-letter word is the primary culprit that keeps average people from breaking through to any level that’s above average. It’s a fact that doing what it takes to become above average at anything meaningful is not and will never be fun.
Yes, reaping rewards when the world recognizes that you are above average is fun. But putting your mind and body through the training to get those rewards is not.
Author Geoff Colvin writes this in so many words in his seminal book Talent is Overrated:
It seems a bit depressing that the most important thing you can do to improve performance is no fun, take consolation in this fact: It must be so. If the activities that lead to greatness were easy and fun, then everyone would do them and they would not distinguish the best from the rest.
In this book, Colvin breaks down in detail how greatness comes at the cost of fun. Those who do great things do so by completing boring, repetitive tasks. In fact, Colvin specifically suggest that the one characteristic that separates world-class performers from everybody else is their ability to toil for long hours doing things that aren’t fun.
Fun vs. Satisfaction
If you want to be above average at anything, the first thing you must do is understand the mindset difference between fun and satisfaction. An activity can satisfy you and not be fun. What’s more, it’s the satisfaction one gains from working hard on their passions that motivates them to toil for long hours doing things that aren’t fun.
When a successful person describes hard work as fun, they are really saying it’s satisfying. For them, working hard to get better at something they’re passionate about is fun even when it’s not fun. This is what makes those who are above average successful.
- Successful people will endure the absence of fun when doing something they are passionate about.
- Successful people only pursue success when they are passionate about something.
Without this passion, there’s no satisfaction. This is why above average performers are only above average when they are doing the things they love. They aren’t necessarily above average at everything or even many things.
So, the takeaway is simple. When you are trying to push yourself beyond just being average, stop looking to do things that are fun, and instead look to do things that provide you with satisfaction.