Signs You’re Settling For Mediocrity When You Could Have A Truly Amazing Life

Settling is tempting, especially when the hopes and dreams you have for your life seem far away and bordering on impossible to achieve. No matter how difficult it is, you should never be okay with mediocrity, especially when the amazing life you’ve always envisioned is still within reach. If you’re doing any of these 10 things, it might be time to make a change.

  1. You hate your job but haven’t bothered to look for another. We all need money—most of us aren’t loaded and we have bills to pay, which ends up keeping us locked into jobs that suck our souls dry and makes us feel like total zombies by the time we leave at the end of the day. Screw that. You may be completely broke but that doesn’t mean you have no way out. Trading in money for happiness is just as bad as selling your soul. Apply for other jobs or see if there are perhaps other departments that are more interesting in your current place.
  2. You show up but you’re not tuned in. Physically being somewhere is not always enough, you must bring your whole self (your mind, soul, and emotions) everywhere. You may actually show up to work or events in a trance and just end up going through the motions. You may not recognize at first, but your family and/or friends do recognize and it does affect them.
  3. You do what you “have” to do, nothing more. Being an adult usually means fulfilling a multitude of responsibilities, which often leaves little time for your hobbies, passions, and favorite pastimes. Your desires and the things that enrich your life are just as important, so you should prioritize some amount of time to dedicate to them. Finding balance is important—you can’t be all work and no play or it’ll destroy you.
  4. Self-loathing and self-pity have become the norm. You’re not happy with your life but you haven’t really thought of doing anything to change it. Instead, you degrade yourself and waste valuable time throwing pity parties about the things in your life that suck but are totally changeable if only you’d get off your butt and change them. It has to stop.
  5. You’ve stopped setting goals. Setting goals and having things you’d like to achieve in the short and long term is important because it gives you motivation and something to strive for on a daily basis. You used to have a long list of accomplishments you wanted to reach but recently you’ve left them by the wayside in favor of stagnating in place.
  6. You’re cold and unfeeling even towards your closest friends and family. Relationships may not be for everyone, however being cold-hearted is for no one. If you find that you’re closed off, terrible at communicating or lacking a single friend/family that you can call to lift your spirits, there’s a serious problem. Naturally, humans need to feel and shutting yourself off from others can limit you. You don’t want to become a robot because you’re in a bad place.
  7. You’re not doing things that nurture you. Every decision you make is a questionable one because it’s not one that you’d make if you felt you had a choice. You’re constantly living for other people and doing things that you don’t want to do in life, whether because you’re a people pleasure or afraid of letting anyone else down. Well, being the person who aims to make everyone else happy leaves everyone happy but you—and that’s not only mediocre, that’s depressing!
  8. You haven’t left your hometown/state and seen the world around you. Believing that traveling is an unnecessary luxury rather than a necessity is maddening. No matter what your financial situation is, experiencing other cultures, lands, or cities—whether it’s an hour away or 14 hours away—can be eye opening. If you’ve only been to the movies in your hometown then it’s time to pack up your bags and hit the road.
  9. You feel your life lacks meaning and purpose. You’ve reached this last point and have already noted most of the other points are pretty accurate. You’re aware you have a problem but you’re not sure how to change things because you feel hopeless. Taking time to figure out what you want in life should be the next move because living this way will always lead you to unhappiness—and you deserve more than that.
My name is Imani L. Francies (Imanileo), and I am a Film and Media major at Georgia State University. I was born in California but moved to Georgia while still fairly young. I have a way of randomly picturing scenes in my head as if it were an actual movie, and that has led me into writing. Transforming those scenes into well-articulated stories has become an enjoyable challenge for me. I hope you find interest in the content I publish.
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