Let’s Just Be Average… Said No One Ever

Why we settle for less—and how to break free

Let’s just be average… Said no one.

I want an average marriage.

I hope my kids turn out… average.

I’d like to earn average grades.

I want my pastor to be average.

My boss? Totally fine if they’re just… average.

I’d be content with average intimacy in my marriage.

I’d like to live in an average country. Have average finances. Average health.

And hey—if my plumbing works only some of the time? That’s fine. Average will do.

I’d settle for an average amount of peace.

I’d like to just be… average.

Said no one. Ever.

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This week I spent time with Jon Acuff, and he posed a game-changing question:

When choosing to be remarkable costs us zero dollars, why do so many of us choose average? – Jon Acuff

He offered eight powerful reasons that keep us from stepping into remarkable. Maybe you’ll see yourself in one (or more) of them. I did.

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8 Reasons We Choose Average Instead of Remarkable

1. We don’t know it exists. It’s never been modeled for us. Our social construct is average.

2. We don’t realize it’s a choice. We simply repeat what we’ve seen—cycles of average modeled by those before us. Excellence has never even been presented as a possibility, and certainly not one we can choose.

3. Someone told us we’re not remarkable. But they were really just talking about themselves—and didn’t even know it.

4. Remarkable feels too stressful. It seems like too much hard work. Too complicated. Too costly.

5. We don’t know what kind of remarkable we want. We dream big but get stuck in indecision. So many dreams… we do none of them.

6. We’re afraid of losing relationships. And yes, some may fade if they aren’t excited about your growth. But “remarkable” creates new community—people aligned with your vision.

7. We fear public criticism. The best way to avoid criticism? Do nothing.

Here we’re reminded of these powerful words by Teddy Roosevelt:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood… who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly… – Theodore Roosevelt, April 23, 1910

8. We’ve never questioned our “acceptable success line.” This one is powerful! We all have one—that subconscious line that says what we’re doing is just “good enough.”

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Time for a Gut Check

Take your current salary—and double it. What thoughts or feelings come up?

Now double it again. And again.

What thoughts and feelings are generated?

What’s your acceptable success line when it comes to:

• Your career?
• Your education?
• Your time with family?
• Your health?
• Your marriage?

Where did that line even come from?

When you stop to really reflect, are you satisfied with it?

And more importantly—how will you feel about it 20 or 40 years from now?

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So, we circle back to Jon’s powerful question:

“When we can be remarkable, why do we choose average?”

If nothing else, let’s be intentional. Let’s question the lines we’ve drawn—and choose the kind of life we won’t regret.

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Your Turn:

👉 Which of these “reasons” hit home for you?

👉 Have you ever questioned your own definition of “good enough”?

👉 What kind of remarkable are you ready to pursue next?

Let’s talk about it. Someone might need to hear what you’re discovering.