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“You didn’t wake up today to be average!” — Alex Toussaint
How often have you gotten out of bed and said to yourself, “Today, I think I prefer to be average.”?
While you may have never said those words exactly, I’m going to challenge you a little. I’d be willing to bet you’ve said things to yourself which have been less than kind. I’d be willing to bet your inner bully has whispered negative nothings in your ear that have made you feel crappy.
I know, it sounds pretty presumptuous of me to bet those things. And I don’t say them out of presumption. I say them because you and I probably have some things in common.
For example, have you ever ruminated over someone’s critical comment, stifled your feelings, shut down your voice, settled for less, or believed the crappy stories your inner bully told?
I have, and every time I’ve done so I’ve allowed average to creep in. And not only did I allow it to creep in, but I invited it to make itself comfy and stay for a while.
The more average I felt, the more I saw myself as average and the more decisions I made to support the average. It became a vicious cycle of rinse and repeat.
NEGATIVE BIAS BRINGS ON THE AVERAGE
As Dr. Rick Hanson explains in his many articles and books, our brains are wired to focus on…