Mediocrity is a virus. Heres how to banish it from your life

Mediocrity is a virus. Heres how to banish it from your lifeMediocrity is a virus. Heres how to banish it from your lifeLittle things become big things.When you justify and allow even little things into your life which your intuition warns you against, you permit a virus to enter your life. It spreads to other areas.When you introduce a change to any system, you simultaneously change the whole system. The other areas of the system will begin arranging themselves to better fit with the new.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreGoing against your higher intuitive voice is a slippery-slope. You dont realize day to day how out of whack things are really getting.Any small problem or indulgence cannot be viewed in isolation. It reflects something much bigger and much deeper. Sometimes it takes an intense wake-up call to become aware of the signals.But once your eyes are open, and youre in a place to hear your inner voice, it all becomes painfully obvious. Youve known all along you were livingagainst yourself,but you continued to justify.The sickening reality is that you actually began tosettle intothe mediocrity, and convince yourself that youre okay with it. Even when it shows itself throughout your entire life.Your relationships are worse than they used to be. But you justify and adapt.Your health is worse than it used to be. But you justify and adapt.Youre more distracted than ever. Oh well.Your thinking has become dull and polluted with the trivial and negative.Your life is a garden. You cant just cosmetically hide your problems. You must take them by the root and completely rip-them-out.Its the only way.The virusmust be removed.If it is not removed, it will continue to infect your whole life and the core of who you are as a person will slowly and painfully die.What is Private Always Shows ItselfPubliclyA private victory always precedes a public victory.Stephen R. CoveyNothing in your life is hidden. You may think it is, but its not.I have a friend who is constantly dieting. Whenever hes around me, he always eats healthy. Yet, he always seems to be struggling with his weight.Although this friend will not show his demons in public, its obvious by his weight that in his private prison, he numbs himself in the comfort of food.The same is true of all people. Every area of your life is on display. Youre not fooling anyone.Words are weak.Your life speaks for itself.Changing Your Desires to Reflect YourValuesWhen a man makes his thoughts pure, he no longer desires impure food.James AllenThe first step of evolution is to stop desiring the things that are stopping you from evolving.Ascending to greater heights at anything involves making permanent, not temporary, improvements.If you want to improve your finances, you have to change your desires about money. You cant continue to enjoy spending money on the crap you spend it on. You cant continue to be content always being stressed about money.Your life and your environment are a reflection of your desires. When your desirestruly change,you will adapt your environment to match your new desires. You will no longer justify what you once were okay with.Until you reallywantto change, you wont, even if deep down you believe you should.Yet, once your desire shifts, changing your behavior is instant and effortless. If you no longer desire bad food, its not hard to resist it. Willpower is for people who havent made up their minds. Willpower doesnt work.If you no longer desire mediocrity, you wont be mediocre. Herein lies a subtle and disarming trutheverything you have in your lifeis what you want.If you wanted something different, youd have something different.Own it.Until you own it, youll continue to be delusional. Once you own it, you can begin the process of change.A Return to ConsciousnessAuthenticity and integrity are rare traits these days.Most people conform to whatever environme nt they are in, even if that environment directly contradicts their value-system. Few people have the guts to speak-up or to simply leave. Case and point when people start gossiping, do you join in?Few people have the courage to own their value-system these days.Most people are too concerned about what other people think to be their true selves.When was the last time you had completely uninhibited self-expression?In his book,Spartan Up,Joe De Sena talks about how he often does burpees during down-time, even in public places. His wife and kids are sometimes embarrassed by the strange looks Joe gets while doing burpees at airports.But Joe doesnt care what these people think. Firstly, he doesnt even know these people. Secondly and more importantly,he wants to do burpees.Whats wrong with doing burpees? Just because it breaks a social norm?If its normal, its average. If its average, its probably closer to mediocre than you really want to be.Average is getting a C in class.Average is bein g overweight.Average is being negative often and positive rarely.Average is living far beneath your value-system and your dreams.ChallengeHeres my challenge to you. If this post struck a nerve, make today the day you start living congruently. Point your life more directly toward your TRUE NORTH.Remove anything and everything from your life that contradicts your highest values.Make a private decision followed by a public commitment of what you intend to do. Surround yourself with the right people who will keep you accountable.Organize your life.Organize your relationships.Take one step in the right direction. Then do it again. Productivity and success are not complicated. Success is taking 20 steps in one direction rather than one step in 20 directions.One step.Consistency.Miracles and enormous results over time. The compound effect.You can do this.How I Turned $25,000 Into $374,592 In Less Than 6MonthsIve created a free training that will teach you how to become world-class and succ essful at anything you choose.Access the free trainingherenowThis article first appeared on Medium.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from jngste Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people