Key To Success #2

Key #2 isn’t the 2nd most important thing you need to do, but it’s the 2nd one I’m writing about.

Some people will urge you to try and be the best at whatever you do, but most of the time you don’t need to. Now, let me say first that I do encourage you to take pride in what you do and excel at those things you have a natural talent for. But I don’t believe it’s important to be the best.

For starters, only one person can be the best at something and most people have no chance at it. So be realistic with yourself about your capabilities or you’ll just be frustrated and discouraged.

More importantly, it is rarely necessary for you to be the best at something in order to be successful at it. In most cases, you will achieve success if you are simply better than average. I have previously stated that you should put most of your effort into pursuing things that you have a natural talent for (see here). If you follow this rule, then you can usually be better than average at what you do with moderate effort.

You need to assess the importance of everything you do. If something isn’t going to have any great effect on your lifestyle or your future, then it may not be worth putting a huge amount of effort into it. You may be just as well off in the end if you’re simply better than most people. Don’t waste your effort on things that realistically aren’t that important unless you enjoy it.

Here’s an example of what I’m driving at. Let’s talk about college. Most people might think that your grades in college are really important, but they rarely are. For most people, a degree is their only goal, and you can get that with a C average. Unless you’re planning to go to graduate school (or med school or law school) after you graduate, then getting straight A’s isn’t going to have much (or any) effect on your future. It’s unlikely a potential employer will want to see your grades in an interview, and if they do then they don’t understand the real world very well.

So if you just want to get a degree to graduate and get a job, then don’t kill yourself to get an A in classes that just aren’t your thing. If you can be better than most of the other students, then you will end up with respectable grades, sometimes even very good grades. And that’s all you need to accomplish your goal, that is to graduate.

Invest your time in those things that can really have an impact on your life. If your future can be significantly influenced by how well you understand statistics, then do your best to learn as much as possible in your stats classes. But if biology is nothing more than fulfilling a requirement, then just make sure you do better than 50% of the other students in the class. Avoid the stress of trying to get an A in a class that, in reality, doesn’t matter.

Before I end this, let me reiterate that I do encourage you to excel at what you do. And if you are doing something that you are naturally good at and enjoy, then perhaps you can be the best if you commit yourself to it. If so, then go for it. But don’t feel that you have to be the best to succeed. You can achieve great success in life by simply being better than most of the people around you. You will get good grades, you will get promoted, you will be respected.

Excel at those things that are important and be better than average at everything else.

Source: Key To Success #2