April 8, 2025-We live in an age where being average is often seen as something negative and not to be sought. The goal of many people is to be the very best at what one does regardless of the psychological and physical impact on them by putting their total energy to this end. To become the CEO of the company, to become the top athlete in the chosen sport, to be the top student in the chosen field, to earn the most money of anyone they know, to have the biggest house, to have the most expensive car, to have the most attractive spouse/ partner, in a never-ending list of being the best and number one. Media of all types blare out the glory of being number one! Heartbreak and psychological devastation can be the result if one does not reach the pursued goal of being number one. My argument here is not for a person to not aim to be excellent and do the best they can do. No, there is nothing wrong with that if you can do it and maintain your mental and physical health along the way. Too many people in their striving for excellence, negatively impact their psychological development and even their physical development by blindly striving to be number one at something at all costs. They then can lose out on all the other activities that can be enjoyed in life if everything is lo pushed in the one direction of being excellent in one or even more areas. Again,the point here is not to have you strive for excellence, but to consider what can be done in life by being average and successful. Considering that most persons are average, there is nothing wrong with trying to find happiness and joy as an average person. The average person is the one who actually makes a country work. They work everywhere around us and make the world we live in function effectively. Everyone cannot be the CEO of the company or the greatest athlete on the team. Finding joy in being average can be the key to a happy life and is for millions of persons. The psychologically well balanced average person strives to be successful and goes about it by being a good student, a good citizen, a good partner, a good friend,a good worker and someone who can enjoy the bountiful opportunities in life by not becoming obsessed with learning everything about something, being the leader of the group or the number one person at something that often requires one to lose out on many other joyful things in life. The potential joys of being average would include having extensive time for hobbies and relationships, being free of unpleasant expectations, not being robbed of the joy and peace that can come from not trying to be number one, enjoying the road of life not perturbed by their own expectations or those of others for them, having a job that pays the bills and enjoying it, and not risking burnout and disillusionment by not being obsessed with being number one. A word to the wise is to learn being number one has high potential for job burnout, feelings of failure when not being number one and potentially not having solid relationships with friends, family, a significant other, and even children due to the obsessiveness of trying to be number one at sometimes everything and spending all their time to achieve that end. Take a look at your life and see if things would be better for you if you approach life from being a joyful and happy average person versus a constantly stressed out person striving and obsessed with being number one.