JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
What is right beneath average? The answer to the question is below average, hence the title of this week's article. Being average is not about a result, but about a mindset that leads to the result. This week I want to explore how you engage each activity associated with your life.
I believe that you get out of life, your career, and personal pursuits what you invest in it. So as you examine your recent results in your life, were the results average because you put forth an average effort? Or were your efforts average because you have not taken the time to be physically, mentally, and spiritually prepared? You are the only one to answer these questions, and the answers should drive your efforts towards excellence.
If you have done your best and ended up with an average result, then that's OK because you put your all in accomplishing your goal. However, if you did not lay it on the line, then you are living beneath your means and you and those around you may suffer from lack of effort. It could be in the form of lack of opportunities in promotion, decreased personal fulfillment, and mission degradation.
We need each person putting their hearts and energies into themselves as well as our great team. You see, if you see average as the top of the bottom and move towards positively exploiting your gifts, then our entire operation will improve because each person is performing at peak levels.
Being average is beneath you, and that's what separates our military from any other military in the world. With all that our military is called upon to accomplish professionally and personally, we must continue to push towards excellence. Personally if our focus is to be the best that we can be, and collectively is to dominate in any domain that we're called to operate in, then we will never be top of the bottom.