Consistently average…

• Proverbs 20:21 (NKJV) An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning will not be blessed at the end.

You’d be better off being consistently average than being unpredictably great.

If people can’t count on you – no matter how great you are – they eventually count you out.

If people have to “test the waters” every time they come into your presence; if everyone has to hold their breath when you step into the room until they can figure out what sort of mood you’re in; if every one is on pins and needles when it’s up to you to come through: that’s not good.

Make it a habit to be predictable and dependable. Striving to excel and achieve excellence is an admirable aspiration. But the best way is to steadily and consistently produce; people can buy into that sort of return. It’s the volatile and excitable high flyers that scar the life and trust out of people.

Disclaimer: I am not advocating mediocrity. By all means foster aspirations for excellence; however, taking people on an roller-coaster of highs and low grows weary after a while; better to temper your pursuit of greatness with day-in and day-out dependability and predictable production. In the long run, you’ll be way ahead of game.
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Extra credit:

Did you know that well over 90% of all mutual funds do not beat the average? In other words, if you just put your money in an index fund that mirrored the S&P 500 and forgot about it you would be far ahead of virtually all high-dollar “managed” funds. Oh there is the occasional high flyer that makes a short splash but in the long run just being predictably average will put far more money in your pocket.

This is just one example of how being consistently average wins out in the long run.