It is important to remember that the question we choose to discuss is the question we invite you to ask yourself.
It may sound like a bit of a negative question, and a bit like I’m assuming that you’ve got triggers that lean you towards mediocrity. But the truth is, all of us are tempted daily towards a more mediocre way of living where we might choose the ordinary, or the comfort, over the stretching.
The danger with this is that we may find that through choosing the easier path or option, we end up doing things that don’t align or connect with our inner intentions.
There are two principles associated to this:
1. Firstly, most of us have predictors on our behaviour. So if certain things happen we can almost assume or predict how we are going to respond.
2. Secondly, a well-known conclusion is that our beliefs drive our behaviours. However, the external environment can also drive our behaviour. As much as I’d love to think I control my life fully, if I’m placed in certain external conditions, you might find the environment starts to trigger a different response from me
James Clear in his book Atomic Habits uses a most interesting finding from the Vietnam War to start a similar discussion to this.
In 1971, research was done on the soldiers, which revealed a frightening discovery: over 15% of US soldiers were addicted to heroin. The finding caused those to search further. And to much surprise, they found that once the soldiers who were heroin addicts returned home, only 5% of them returned to the habit. Meaning, 9 out of 10 of them were able to eliminate the addiction literally overnight.
I think it is fair to say that this study supports the ethos of , to change your behaviour, change your environment.
There are some more relatable examples too:
– I’m more likely to drink water if water is more accessible and visible around me.
– I’m more likely to be positive if people all around me are positive or smiling.
– I’m more likely to think of good ideas if around me I have the open spaces and light and ease.
– I’m more likely to find healing in the presence of whole people than broken people.
There is an interesting scripture in the New Testament says, if your right hand sins cut it off. It sounds so violent and extreme but yet if you get to the roots of it you may find it is connecting us to the roots of what we are speaking of here: remove yourself from your triggers that cause a behaviour which does not align with your inner intentions.
In any challenging situation, we have 3 responses. Either we can:
- Leave
- Stay and accept the situation, and choose to just put up with it
- Stay, and decide to do something about it asking, what can I change to improve this?
The choice here, is ours.
Side note here: leaving doesn’t have to necessarily mean you should quit or drastically abort something. It can mean to leave an idea, decision, action, town, friend circle, or whatever specific environment you feel is causing a reaction.
There are two ways we can go about rectifying mediocrity that we observe, as leaders in the workplace or personal life:
We can encourage people to behave differently – to raise their game and engage with the resolve.
OR
Try identifying the triggers and the causes. There is always a reason why we act the way we do.
We should practice asking ourselves, what triggers can you create to induce the desired outcome?
An example of this in the office could be creating spaces where people can have good conversation (perhaps a nice coffee area?) or leaving notepads and pens out for ideas, or to have a small library, all of which could encourage creativity and contradict mediocrity.
THINK of something in your life that you’re unhappy with; somewhere where you behave in a way that’s not aligned to who you are as a person. Then ask, what are the potential triggers that could have caused you to behave in this way that’s not true to who you are?
When we find the triggers, we are able to more practically do things to address it and find a way to move forward.
The answers to good questions are transformational. Take time to brew this question and ask if you can apply it to yourself.
And lastly, find more time in your week to just be, so your not always just doing.
– Gabriella Ivey