“Is this the best you can do?”

We’ve all seen the memes and taglines: “average averse”, “mediocrity sucks”, or “f*ck normal”.

I’m not knocking the message. In fact, I love the notion of striving to go above and beyond.

Above and beyond is the key. It’s about effort.

The sobering and unsexy reality of embodying this sentiment is far simpler – and far less appealing – than most believe.

Normal is, well, normal. Normal is ordinary.

Being extraordinary requires us to behave abnormally.

To behave normally would deliver normal, or average, results.

Indeed, the path to rising above normal, average, or mediocre unavoidably runs right through one simple question: “is this the best you can do?”

The way we answer that question determines where we fall on the ordinary <—-> extraordinary spectrum.

Ordinary people give mediocre efforts and produce average results. When asked “was this a total human effort?”, or “is the the very best you can do?”, the answer is usually no.

Extraordinary people, on the other hand, answer this question with a yes. This is the abnormal behavior required for extraordinary results – your best effort, all the time, every time, even – and especially – when nobody is watching.

My challenge to you, the seeker of better than average, is to make sure you answer this question in a way that makes you proud: “Is this the best you can do?”

Tune in to this BHP Short: Extraordinary vs. Ordinary for a powerful lesson on extraordinary resolve from a powerful human: powerlifting legend and successful businessman, coach & father Dave Tate.