A Meditation on Mediocrity

We’ve been using the word “mediocre” all wrong. Rather than inferior or less-than, the word literally means “halfway up the mountain”

This means something to me because I grew up in Santa Barbara. I used to hike the Cold Springs Canyon trail. After half an hour of switchbacks, creek crossings and diagonal ridge ascending, the trail opens up to a spectacular view, on some days 50 miles in any direction. You’re only about 1,200 feet above sea level but you can see from Point Concepcion to Malibu, and offshore there are four stately islands in the Santa Barbara Channel. And you’re only halfway to the summit near Montecito Peak; pretty mediocre.

What I’m saying is perhaps we should aspire for mediocrity more often. Get from the idea to half-baked, from the blank page to the very rough first draft. Give yourself permission to be mediocre and you’ll probably produce more perfect work in the long run.

(for you Santa Barbara purists, the photo above was taken from Inspiration Point above San Roque by somone named Brian. It’s meant to give someone the general idea of an ocean and island view from a mountain trail).