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Post by jeremysgirl on Aug 21, 2016 21:07:03 GMT
For many of us mediocre is an achievement. Balance is something I struggle with. I can always find ways to feed my mind. But there is always a trick to finding balance for me. I'm either go go go...achieve achieve achieve...or so damn stuck in neutral I can't get up the energy to clean my kitchen floor. I will forever be striving for balance. Call it mediocrity if you want but that is my goal.
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Post by refugeepea on Aug 21, 2016 21:17:37 GMT
The message really resonates with me right now. But to me the article sounds almost self-aggrandizing or like a PVM. I'm pretty sure the expected response is "You're not mediocre - you're awesome and inspirational!". I read it the same way. |
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Post by leftturnonly on Aug 21, 2016 22:01:59 GMT
For many of us mediocre is an achievement. Balance is something I struggle with. I can always find ways to feed my mind. But there is always a trick to finding balance for me. I'm either go go go...achieve achieve achieve...or so damn stuck in neutral I can't get up the energy to clean my kitchen floor. I will forever be striving for balance. Call it mediocrity if you want but that is my goal. I was thinking something very similar. Maintaining balance is in and of itself a great achievement. I understand your goal very well. Mediocre, though, is a distinctly low performance rating that I feel it is entirely inappropriate to use in regard to a person's life. We don't perform life. We live it and sometimes that means we endure it as well. Perhaps it would be helpful for you to come up with a substitute word for mediocre? Even one that is more neutral such as ordinary would benefit you more even if it's only for the few moments you think about it now. Little triumphs like this build you up. Accepting negative terms like mediocre tear you down. I don't like to add any more to that heavy, negative side of the scale than is already there, myself, so I can't imagine you do either. |
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pudgygroundhog
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,652 
Location: The Grand Canyon
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Post by pudgygroundhog on Aug 21, 2016 23:50:30 GMT
sometimes I get pangs of envy when I see people who have figured out a way to travel full time or write blogs that get them sponsored and given free travel, etc. I don't begrudge them their happiness and successes at all, but I am envious. Not just of what they are doing, but that they had the ambition and gumption to make it happen. I don't dwell on those things that often, but sometimes it comes up. I see where you're coming from, but those people have to work really hard for it and are probably staying in large resorts. You're going to off the beaten path places that don't have large hotels that would sponsor posts. Do you really want the work keeping up a blog? I think being able to afford your own vacation, to take it on your own terms, without being required to turn out some tangible product is the better way to go. In order for a hotel to give you a free stay, you have to have an active blog with a high readership, which means you're blogging 3x a week year around, about what I don't know. Then you write some fake glowing review about it. I think traveling full time must get old and tiring, not having a home, living out of a suitcase, not liking your bed, uploading your photos on the road, gaining weight, not having your hair perfect, wearing the same 2 outfits every day because you downsized your luggage for year round travel. To me, success is being able to afford my own vacation which is more special when it's occasional. What you could do is, if you use mixbook to make your photobooks afterward, is approach them to use your finished product in their advertising for a fee. Or find new ways to display your photos in your home like www.shinerphoto.com/I have wondered how you find time to read so many books in a week. That's another success item you can add to your belt. Do you not watch TV, or read on the bike at the gym every day, or listen on your commute to work? I agree - it is a lot of work for those blogs and not something I'm cut out for. I have seen some (Instagram too) that are more outdoor oriented - those are the ones I really love. As for reading - I don't watch much TV at all, don't get as much sleep as I should, and am not much of a homemaker. I also read every day - usually every night before I go to bed and often read at lunch time too. |
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Post by jenjie on Aug 22, 2016 13:40:04 GMT
I didn't read the article in OP but have read the thread. I read this on FB today and thought it would be fitting to share here. I have no idea who Dorothy Parker is but apparently it's her birthday. So my FB friend shared this quote from her:
"I'm never going to be famous. My name will never be writ large on the roster of Those Who Do Things. I don't do any thing. Not one single thing. I used to bite my nails, but I don't even do that any more."
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Post by sawwhet on Aug 22, 2016 14:05:03 GMT
I don't like the use of mediocre in this context either. Perhaps "simple" would have been better.
I'm seeing more and more younger people (early to mid-20's) state that they just want to be happy. My nephew quit university because it was too much and he just wants to be happy, travel the world and do fun things. I'm not even sure what to think about this. Sounds like a cool life except that he's working at a coffee shop making minimum wage. Not sure if that is sustainable for his desired lifestyle.
The 20 year old across the road is the same....he just wants to be happy. He works at a gas station and hangs out with friends on the weekend. Is that a mediocre life? average?
My goal is to be happy everyday and I generally am but it's also a combination of hard work and play. It's about balance.
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Post by lisacharlotte on Aug 22, 2016 18:06:14 GMT
I think the use of the word "mediocre" is what the the author thinks others/society would say about her. I agree that I have no desire to live up to someone else's idea of successful. I've done and seen a lot in my 51 years. I like the thought of not constantly striving for more, just for the sake of having more.
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zella
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,884
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Post by zella on Aug 23, 2016 2:16:03 GMT
One thing that struck me in the blog post was the author's statement that, as a mother, she didn't like to play with her kids. I didn't either. I'd read to them, take them places, do things with them. But I'd have rather gone to the dentist (sorry, no offense intended) than play Candy Land or Barbies or whatever. It's just part of who I am. I told my older daughter this recently, and apparently she didn't remember me not playing with her and her sister, so I guess it didn't matter too much.
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