If you want to live an extraordinary life, then you’re going to have to do the things most people simply aren’t willing to do.
Obvious, right?
Yet, so often — we tend to expect extraordinary results while engaging in average thinking and behaviors.
Achieving an average life is simple: follow the norm, do the bare minimum and spend your time complaining about why it’s not working out.
Here are 19 ways to stay average, feel stuck, and never reach your potential.
1. Wake up at the same time as everyone else does, and start your work at 9:00 AM.
No one has any time anymore — we’re all busy in an information overload, Instagram obsessed digital era.
Yet, the successful are up and at them early — understanding by simply waking up 60 minutes early every single day, you’ve created 7 more hours to your week.
2. Do the bare minimum — enough not to get noticed and never cause a stir.
The average escapes standing out — good or bad, by simply doing the bare minimum every single day.
This mindset is the exact roadblock in the way of them achieving any type of success, or getting noticed for a new and exciting opportunity.
3. Believe everyone is out to get you, and play the victim card as often as possible.
Playing the victim card in life is an easy out. It’s the fastest, most acceptable way to let ourselves off the hook from, you know — doing the real work.
It’s also accepted. But no matter what you’ve been through, there’s always someone who achieved greatness with much worse odds.
Ditch the victim card, once and for all.
4. Wait to “feel” like doing something before getting executing.
The average love to wait until they feel like doing something in order to execute.
High performers understand this is a surefire way to stay stuck, never see any progress — and ensure nothing changes. Instead, they know execution is the pre-cursor to those feelings.
5. Always search for the easiest path possible — looking for a shortcut to any result.
The average love the path of least resistance — it’s encoded in their DNA, while high performers love a great challenge.
The easy path, taking a shortcut — these are all missed opportunities to sharpen our minds and face resistance head on.
6. Never take personal responsibility and accountability, but blame others.
For the average, nothing is ever their fault. They’re the fastest to blame someone else — and will go to great lengths to convince themselves they’re right.
7. Gossip about the people around you, your boss, the ex that did you wrong 14 years ago.
The average love spending their time talking about people. It makes them feel better about their circumstances, however fleeting.
Specifically, they love talking about what person did them wrong, and why they’re the ones to blame for their lack of success or results.
8. Put yourself in rooms of average achievers — so you feel right at home.
The average won’t be found in uncomfortable rooms of world class achievers and those who challenge them to bring out nothing but their absolute best.
Why? Because this is a vulnerable state — and a stark reminder of what they haven’t done.
9. Consume useless information in the realms of celebrity news, sports gossip, and politics.
When you’ve decided to give up on thinking and acting big — you revert to the most consumable information available.
This includes anything in the realms of celebrity news, sports gossip, politics and more.
10. Never take action on what you really want — or get honest with yourself in the first place.
The average have all the ideas, yet nothing to show for it. They know what it takes to be successful, build a lean body, thriving relationship and achieve all their dreams.
Yet, it’s all a fantasy — because they never had the audacity to get started.
11. Bicker, complain and feel entitled when someone else gets the chance and achieves a win.
When the average see someone else win, they bicker and complain — instead of acknowledging their success.
It’s always because they knew someone, or had a special connection, or some other reason than the truth: they chose to go above and beyond.
12. Eat crappy foods, get high off sugar and wreck all of the mental and physical bandwidth available to you.
When asked about the most important habit for people to build their entrepreneurial dreams — mogul Richard Branson simply said “exercise.”
The average place a low value on their physical body, and instead chase pleasure with food that winds up making them feel tired, sluggish and repeats the endless cycle of feeling stuck.
13. Be a starter, but never finish. Allow circumstances to always get in the way, and make countless excuses.
Average people love starting. They love the dance party, motivational Red Bull seminar and declaring their dreams.
But they never finish — and often fold at the first sign of challenge and adversity.
14. Spend your precious time bringing others down — finding ways to spread negativity and criticism.
Average people love bringing other’s down — and spreading negativity in regards to how they achieved success.
They’ll find any way to discredit their hard work, grit and persistence — and rarely celebrate the accomplishments and wins of those in their circle.
15. Avoid tough conversations with others that must be had — and most importantly, with the person in the mirror.
The average don’t like to engage in tough conversations. They tend to avoid, distract or make excuses for these — because they’re afraid of what they may find.
Most importantly, they’re unwilling to have the honest conversations with themselves.
16. Instead of answering life’s toughest questions — distract yourself as soon as they come up and drown them out with noise.
Those who experience extraordinary success and results are usually growth mindset oriented — and never stop learning.
Part of this is the personal journey of discovery and always being humble enough to be the student.
17. Follow the herd constantly, instead of trusting your inner voice and guidance.
The average follow the herd, and adopt a mentality of seeking answer’s and guidance outside of themselves.
They don’t trust their own voice, and rarely spend time cultivating it through deep inner work, challenging conversations and experiences.
18. Let others define success for you, and live a life that someone else wanted for you — your parents, your social circle, society.
The average haven’t defined success for their lives — and often wind up stuck in no man’s land. There’s no clarity, passion or drive.
Life feels mundane in this place and they are one step from resigned.
19. Fall in love with (perceived) security and always take the ‘safe’ path — even though part of you is screaming not to.
For the average, the secure and safe path is what they’re seeking —and they live in a world of complacency.
The extraordinary know life is to be lived — and the adventure is what gives us the thrill of being alive.
Do you want to be average or extraordinary?
If these behaviors light you up — more power to you.
But here’s the truth:
A lot of people “want” to be extraordinary — until it’s time to do what extraordinary people do.
There’s a reason only 5% of people achieve any of their dreams, goals, and desires.
Because the rest aren’t willing to go above and beyond and do what’s required to live an extraordinary life.
