Obsessed with excellence

Inspirational words over MCHS lockers. (Photo: Natalia Woods, The Puma Prensa)

By Kevin Wei, video editor

The secret to a perfect body, the path to enlightenment, and the walkway to celebrity stardom is a trick so simple that you can teach it to an old dog. If you knew this trick, it would be easy to make your first billion dollars and even easier to win Olympic gold. The Noble Prize would be like placing in an elementary school spelling bee, and the Grammys would nominate you for playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on grandma’s rickety piano. A Guinness World Record? That’s just another Tuesday. 

If you think I sound ridiculous, then you’re right. This “trick” lies in a forgotten corner between Nowhereland and Misinformationville. It doesn’t exist. 

We all want an easy escape from a dull, do-nothing life. We have big dreams to change the world, become the best at what we do, and die with our names filling the chronicles of Wikipedia. Indeed, we are obsessed (haunted by excessive concern) with excellence. 

For example, people spend millions of dollars on Lamborghini, Gucci bags, and Rolexes to flaunt their wealth and buy into a life in the top 1%. The most expensive products are embedded with grandiose designs meant to stand out from the crowd. 

Some social media influencers (Andrew Tate, self-proclaimed pick-up artists, etc) sell thousands of toxic narratives in self-help books and courses, empty promises to turn your life around and make you millions.

Additionally, modern art often sacrifices classical techniques or skills to produce never-before-seen displays that catch the eye. While I can even replicate the famous exhibition of a banana taped to a white wall, its innovative intentions and subsequent popularity reflect a culture that awards extreme divorces from traditional norms. 

This proves that our society heavily spotlights the most unusual: the sportiest, the scariest, the spiciest, and the saddest. As such, society’s outstanding feats become the perceived average. Many end up pitting themselves against unrealistic measurements.

Of course, ambition is a healthy trait, and everybody should strive to be their best. However, idealized excellence is often made impossible by one: competition and two: time restraint. To be exceptional, that is, to stand out from 7,999,999,999 other humans in the world, is a mathematical improbability. Frankly and statistically speaking, you (yes, you, the reader) will meet failure throughout your life. The world is simply too large for an error rate of zero—no one gets everything they want.

When competing against millions of other humans, a world record is never “just another Tuesday;” instead, it is more like a thousand Tuesdays of rigorous, consistent practice. And as everyone has the same 24 hours a day, global superlatives (most wealthy, most famous, most smart) generally demand extreme time tradeoffs that most people find undesirable. 

Therefore, comparing oneself to the farthest ends of the Earth’s bell curve is unhealthy. Although many hope to live in the most prominent house and achieve the most awards, such a pursuit is not for everyone.

So bear with me as I propose a different approach: You (yes, you, the reader) are powerfully unique. Ignore everyone else and solely envision yourself floating like an asteroid in space. Zoom in and notice the microscopic structures, edges, and threads that paint your character like a classical sculpture. Zoom out and see the 200 billion trillion stars in the universe, with only one-star system known to contain life. From head to toe, thought to heart, you live a life nobody has or will ever possibly live. 

In a vacuum that prevents you from comparing yourself to the wildly different lives of other humans, it is clear how special you are. Take a slow breath and wonder how a hunk of flesh and bones can write down equations and theories that explain the universe. 

Hence, it is not mediocre to be “average” because the idea of being “average” is a construct invented by comparing oneself to others: Am I worth more than this person? Am I prettier than that person? However, excellence for excellence’s sake is superficial because, objectively, everyone is already unique and has a story worth telling. 

Take a hard look at the title of this article again: Being average is a bad thing. If you think I sound ridiculous, then you’re right. “Being average” lies in a forgotten corner between Nowhereland and Misinformationville. It doesn’t exist.