Must one always strive for excellence? Is perfectionism a good thing? And can Mike have two bad days in a row?
I have crafted the perfect phrase, and I'm now gonna evaporate.
I'm Angela Duckworth.
I'm Mike Mahn, and you're listening to.
No stupid questions today on the show.
What's wrong with being average?
Okay, maybe if I read this book, I'll be better at not having these ridiculous expectations, but so far, it hasn't worked.
Okay, Angela, today we have an email from Ambika Nadkarni, and she said, I don't have as much go getter instinct as I'd like, but I think I'm trying my best without burning out.
Is that ever enough?
Is there value in living an average life or even a mediocre life?
Oh, my God, I love this question.
So many thoughts.
So, Angela, let me ask you, the foremost expert on grit.
Is it okay to settle for being average?
You know, I have been thinking about this question recently, just, like, personally, and I have not come to the conclusion that I would like to live, as ambigu puts it, an average life or even a mediocre life.
But I have been thinking about expectations.
I've been realizing how high my expectations are.
Like, I think they're absurd for everything, actually, or for a lot of things.
So before I go on, I mean, because I have so many things in my head and in my heart, I don't know.
What do you think?
You're also somebody who I would consider a striver, but you're also somebody that I would consider as having a very average life.