Settling for Less//Why Most People Stay Average?

In the heart of almost every person, there is a desire to grow, desire to live a better life, desire to progress and succeed in life. People want to live a comfortable life, feel respected, make impact and meaning in life. Only a few people I will say, would want to wake up and say they want to remain the way there are, small, stuck, or live ordinary life forever. People dream of more than just living an ordinary life. Yet, when we look around, we see something different. We see many people living far below their dreams. Many people stay average. The question is why do most people stay average when they desire more just an average life? Is it because they are ignorant, or Is it because they are lazy or careless or is it fate, something already decided for them? The truth is not simple, but it is honest, and in my opinion, I believe staying average is not really about fate. It is mostly about the choices, fear, comfort, habits and most times the environment people find themselves.

Most people do not fail because they lack dreams. They fail because they stop pursuing those dreams.
Some people blame fate. They say life has decided their limits. They say they were born unlucky. They say others had better opportunities. Well it is true that people start life from different background and places, some born rich, others poor but I don't think that is really an excuse for why people decide to stay and remain average in life. Fate is often used as an excuse to avoid responsibility. Life may not be fair, people are born different but effort still matters. Growth is still possible. Many people who rose beyond average did not have perfect beginnings. They simply refused to stop.

At the beginning of life, we all have big dreams to become successful in life. I remember when I was a little child in elementary school during our career day, we dressed and came out in different profession attire. Many say they want to become doctors, lawyers, pilots and many other professions.. At that stage of life, the hope was big and fear is minimal. But as we grow older, reality begins to speak louder than the dreams we had and life introduces it's challenges and it's pressure. Responsibility increases and slowly many people begin to shrink their dreams in other to fit their fears.

There are many reasons I believe people stay average in life. One of those reasons is staying comfortable at the current state of one's life.

We need to understand that comfort is not always luxury and sometimes, it is simply what is familiar. A job that pays just enough is okay. A life that does not demand risk is okay. Many people reach a point where life becomes manageable, and they decide that is enough for them. They settle for what they already have and stop pushing themselves towards achieving greater and bigger dreams. Some people hold onto what they have because they are afraid of losing it. Many people would rather stay in a familiar place of average than step into an unknown place of growth.

Fear also is another reason I believe people stay average. Fear of failing in life. Fear of judgment. Fear of starting over again. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of not being ready to start and take a step to achieving dreams.

Fear has become a voice people trust, and dreams become something people only talk about, not something they chase. I've heard people say I want to become successful in this area of life, but then, they look at their current situations and conclude it is not possible to achieve that success because of where they are now.
Some people blame ignorance for their reason of staying average and to some point I think they are right. Some people truly do not know better. They have never been exposed to bigger possibilities. They grew up in environments where living average is a normal way of life. Where survival was the goal, not growth. Where no one taught them to think beyond the present.

When someone has never seen progress, it is hard for them to imagine it. When mindset is built within the circumference of a particular environment, it will be very hard to imagine achieving big dreams outside the circumference of that environment.

People are shaped by what surrounds them. If everyone around a person thinks small, speaks small, dreams small and lives small, it becomes normal. Average becomes acceptable. Anyone who tries to rise is mocked or discouraged. Many people stay average because rising would mean standing alone, and standing alone is uncomfortable.

But then I won't blame it on ignorance. Many people know better. Many people are aware of reality. They know where they are is not where they should be. They know they are capable of more than living an average life. Yet, they still do nothing.

So staying average is not always about lack of knowledge or ignorance or fate. I believe it is sometimes lack of decision making and actions. The difference between those who rise and those who remain average is not talent alone. It is persistence, the willingness to feel uncomfortable, the courage to fail and try again and the decision to keep moving even when progress is slow.