Making the most of mediocrity
I was 16 and had been stuck in a Washington, DC airport for upwards of 12 hours when I first remember playing this game—although it isn’t a game so much as a mindset. I looked around at all of my friends’ sullen faces and thought: “what could get worse?” And sometimes, those simple words can change my entire day. In my experience, when I look at how truly bad a situation could become, it is easier to appreciate the beauty of the moment. Yes, I didn’t want to be stuck in DC, but I was able to people-watch and play card games with some of my closest friends; quality time we did not really account for when planning the trip.
Once you realize how your situation is only determined by your mindset, you can truly see the beauty in even the worst situations. You have an exam to study for, and you have waited until the last minute to do so, but you and your friend book a study room, and your hours are spent half giggling and half revising. It reminds you of when you were small, and you were impenetrable by stress. It is in the late moments in the library that you remember why you came to college. You are stuck in traffic, and not happy about it because you are going to be late. Instead of being upset about something out of my control, I try to look at the positive in that–I can finally be able to listen to the album I’ve wanted to give a listen. By taking a moment to regain control of a situation and use that time in a manner that serves me well, such as the traffic jam album listening time, I am able to use my mindset to gain control of my life in all aspects.
Your mindset can even extend to finding beauty in mediocrity–in the moments you know have potential, but you just can’t put your finger on why. Taking a nighttime walk with my friend in the Fortwood Historic District near campus, I knew it was beautiful but could not pick one moment that I knew I would remember it by until the bunnies came dashing out into the sidewalk, teasing each other and frolicking around the empty roads, bathed only in streetlights.
I think of this practice of finding beauty in mediocrity as an act of taking control–I can control my own narrative and the way I view the world. It is so easy for me to get bogged down in how I am feeling and pausing a moment to reevaluate see the goodness in things I should appreciate more has allowed me to treasure the wild twists and turns life throws my way. And I am not here to act like I am perfect. I have days where it seems that the only way out is through. I have situations with people in my life where I lose touch with the beauty and all I can see is the strain. I wish sometimes that life could just be a bit easier on me. But in the end, I wanted to share one way I have been able to shift my perspective and appreciate more of life’s little moments in hopes that you could too.
Strike Out,
Writer: Jane Dodge
Editor: Jane Dodge
Graphic: Stu McGuire
Chattanooga