How To Keep From Meandering in Mediocrity? Life Training…

I have a lot of favorite sayings and “one liners” that I’ve created over the years. You’ve heard me call them “ebyisms.” One of my favorite … all time “ebyisms” warrants writing down and committing to memory. It goes like this. “If your vocation … is not a “vacation” … then you’re destined to meander in mediocrity.” Of course that means that if you don’t absolutely love what you are doing … if you don’t look forward to doing it every day … with great anticipation … then you will never excel. You will always be mediocre at what you’re doing. This is what Life Training is about. And unfortunately that is the state of most workers in the world today. It is time for a good dose of Life Training to cure mediocrity. Do you want to know why one-half of all first time heart attacks occur between 8 and 10 a.m. on Monday mornings? Because some people hate their jobs so much, they would rather die than go back to work! Why do they hate their jobs? Because they see their lives slipping away. Their dreams going down the tube! And they hate it! They’re so busy trying to make a living; they don’t have time to live! Think about it. How many people do you know, that wake up excited, passionate, and happy about what their day holds for them? Not many! “The hurrier they go, the behinder they get!” Most people I know, are sick and tired of waking up sick and tired! Everyday is a day of dread. They wake up, drag themselves out of bed and force themselves to make the same sickening commute to the office or plant. What a nightmare! While excellence should be their goal … because their vocation is not a vacation …these folks are destined to meander in mediocrity! The root word for mediocrity is mediocre. The dictionary defines mediocre as … of a middle quality… of but a moderate or low degree of excellence; to be mediocre is to be indifferent or ordinary. Roget’s Thesaurus says that to be mediocre is to be … characterless, colorless, commonplace, dull, humdrum, indifferent, inferior, insignificant, ordinary, run-of-the-mill, second-rate, so-so, undistinguished, unexceptional, uninspired, vanilla. This is not what life is all about. Powerful leaders understand the power of excellence! Let’s examine what excellence means … The quality of being excellent is the state of possessing qualities in an eminent degree; exalted merit; superiority in virtue. It means to have class, distinction, eminence, greatness, high quality, perfection, preeminence, purity, quality, superbness, supremacy, virtue, worth. So the pursuit of excellence means the pursuit of distinction, the pursuit of greatness, and the pursuit of worth! And that my friends-is a life worth living! I cannot make myself believe that God, in his divine providence, created us for mediocrity. No … we were created to pursue excellence! I heard about a story that happened years ago. There was an elementary school teacher named Mrs. Thompson. On the very first day of school, in her 5th grade class she told the children a lie. Now, just like most teachers, she looked at all of her students and told them that she loved them all the same. In the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard. She had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he didn’t play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. And boy … could Teddy be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually enjoy marking his papers with a broad red pen, making huge, bold X’s and then putting a big “F” at the top of his papers. She would teach him a thing or two. At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child’s past records and she put Teddy’s off until the very last. But, when she did review his file, she was in for a surprise. Teddy’s first grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners… he is a joy to be around.” His second grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is an excellent student … well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.” His third grade teacher wrote, “His mother’s death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best … but his father doesn’t show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren’t taken.” Teddy’s fourth grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is withdrawn and doesn’t show much interest in school. He doesn’t have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class.” By now … of course … Mrs. Thompson realized what the real problem was … the problem with Teddy… and the problem with herself. She was a mediocre teacher … taking the path of least resistance … and to be quite truthful …she was ashamed of herself. She decided to do better and be the best teacher she could be by embracing a new episode of Life Training! One day soon her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper … all except for Teddy’s. His present was poorly wrapped in a heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson … remembering the reports… took great pains to open it right in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one quarter full of perfume. But, she cut off the children’s laughter when she said how pretty the bracelet was. She took her own bracelet off and put Teddy’s on her wrist. She then dabbed some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, “Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to.” After the all of the kids left … Mrs. Thompson sat there and cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, and writing, and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. She began to pursue excellence! Mrs. Thompson began to pay particular attention to Teddy. The more she worked with him, the more his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest kids in the class. A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life. Six years went by before Mrs. Thompson got another note from Teddy. He wrote her that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life. Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he’d stayed in school, he’d stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had in his whole life. Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor’s degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer -the letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, M.D. The story doesn’t end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he’d met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the place at the wedding that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. And she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together. They hugged each, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson’s ear, “Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference.” Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, “Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn’t know how to teach until I met you.” When you pursue excellence not mediocrity … you’ll make a difference in your Life Training. Isn’t that what we are here for!

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