Being Average: Practical tips for guaranteed Average Performance.

By Khuzwayo Genesis Tembo

We live in a world that has become more and more accustomed to mediocrity. This book is an introspective attempt to unveil the heart of averageness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Khuzwayo Tembo
• Release date: Apr 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386790792

Book preview

Tip I: Stay Connected

ARE YOU ONLINE?

One of our greatest needs is belonging. We are built to be social beings and often, this need drives us to actively seek interaction. We hunger for it almost as if it is necessary for our very survival. Abraham Harold Maslow, an American psychologist, is famous for his Hierarchy of needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a theory that illustrates how man seeks to satisfy his needs in order of their hierarchy. After physiological needs, such as food, air, water, and safety needs, such as shelter and law and order, Maslow[1] suggests that man’s need for affection, connection and belonging drives his deepest motives. I assume that just like every other appetite, the level of this desire for interaction is variable from individual to individual, and some people need more social interaction than others.

With this idea in mind, we arrive at the beginning of the 21st century to find a phenomenon that has dramatically changed the rules of interaction. The internet completely transformed the way in which people socialize. Only 40 years ago, you would have had to write mail and wait many days, even months, to hear from your loved ones a few hundred miles away; and yet today, you could easily pick up your phone and connect with a total stranger from halfway across the world. Social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have opened the world to anyone who can afford a smart phone. This has made it possible for anyone to run an online business, sell their skills, goods and services on the global market and be a part of a world that is much bigger than themselves.

One of the most devastating losses that have come with this communication boom is the historically unprecedented need for disconnection. You may be wondering what exactly I am referring to. In his book, Deep Work, Cal Newport[2] describes the sad reality of how many have lost their ability to intensely focus on one important activity without distraction. He illustrates how network tools such as email, Facebook, Twitter, and other instant communication apps are effectively fragmenting our attention and butchering our aptitude to focus.

The 10,000 Hour Rule is a theory closely associated with a psychologist called Malcolm Gladwell[3]. It suggests that 10,000 hours of ‘deliberate practice’ are needed to become world-class in any field. Many have argued that this theory is inaccurate and too general, and yet all must agree with the fact that in order to be brilliant at anything, vast amounts of work must be put in. Bruce Lee said, I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks. I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times. I do not think 10,000 has any special significance, but I do believe that immense amounts of time have to be invested in developing and perfecting skills. This is simply common sense. Intense practice requires intense concentration and focus, often for long and uninterrupted sessions.

The truth of the matter is that many people have a great desire to do great and wonderful things in their lines of work. There is no shortage of ambition, I would like to argue. I believe the majority of people do not even understand why they haven’t achieved 90 percent of the goals they planned to achieve in the last ten years. Are you aware of what happened to your time? Does it occur to you that time is a limited resource?

The Age of the Nerd?

A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted and lacking social skills. Is it safe to say that we are currently living in the age of the nerd? Nerds, often socially disconnected, have a natural advantage because they can easily refrain from abundant social interaction, especially when it is at the expense of real progress. They would much rather spend time breaking down a mathematical problem or having a fully-fledged argument with themselves in their own minds. Their obsessive personalities make for great academics and, sometimes, even sportsmen, since both of these require intense focus and an unrelenting spirit that isn’t easily distracted by its surroundings.

The modern person who seeks to elude averageness would have to learn much from the nerd, and consequently become much like one. Such a person must guard their time and energy with the utmost jealousy and feel that any untracked spending of it will cost much not only now but also in future. However, beyond their dysfunctional social life, nerds must also choose to go beyond the mundane satisfaction of shallow relationships and begin to experience real and solid friendships with others. They must learn to actually pay attention and listen; to make worthwhile contributions to real conversations.

The irony is that it is this individual that has the time and energy to create social and technological innovations that will drive the world forward. Far from being old and backward, it is people that have learned the power of silence that have set the pace for the world. And I will reemphasize that this isn’t necessarily isolation in the sense of failed interaction, which I address in a later chapter, but isolation for the sake of focus and enhanced concentration. This requires deliberate and lengthy periods in which individuals shut the door and let their minds soak in great thoughts that are the foundation of innovation and growth, both on a micro and macroscopic scale. The greater the number of individuals in a society that are deliberately dedicated to hard work, the higher a society’s chances of growth and progression. The world is thirsty for people that value meditation and productive isolation. Due to developments in the social networking industry, there is an overwhelming amount of irrelevant information going round and we all need to learn how to sift through it wisely. We have to recognize that our problem isn’t a failure to connect, but a failure to disconnect when it is gravely necessary.

Am I overdosed?

According to Statista[4], an online statistics, market research and business intelligence portal, studies show that in 2019, it is estimated that there will be around 2.77 billion social media users around the globe, increasing from 2.46 billion in 2017 and 0.97 billion in 2010. By 2021, it is projected that more than 3 billion people will have social media accounts. Social network penetration worldwide is ever increasing. This means that the majority of the world is in danger of experiencing an overdose of connection and social interaction.

According to Statista[5], an online statistics, market research and business intelligence portal, studies show that in 2019, it is estimated that there will be around 2.77 billion social media users around the globe, increasing from 2.46 billion in 2017 and 0.97 billion in 2010. By 2021, it is projected that more than 3 billion people will have social media accounts. Social network penetration worldwide is ever increasing. This means that the majority of the world is in danger of experiencing an overdose of connection and social interaction.

Furthermore, the same study showed that the average user spends at least 2.5 hours every day on social media, 9% of a full day. Given that a good number of people spend time online for productive reasons, I presume that this is a minute number. If anyone is completely frank, they’ll admit that more than half the time they spend on social media can hardly be attributed to productive work. For a generation that largely attributes our lack of excellence to a shortage of time, millennials surely spend a lot of it connecting! 

Here is how to be average: stay connected! Develop your online profile and make yourself the ideal ‘friend.’ Always be reachable and stay friendly. Keep your phone next to you at all times and never let an email or text go unanswered. Pull your phone out of your pocket every time it summons you. You don’t want to offend anyone, right? It can’t wait! What if someone is dying and they need your help? Keep a well updated social profile on every social media platform available. Spend your money and time making sure that you never miss a meme or a moment. Be updated with the latest trending video and joke. Join many group discussions