You Don’t Have to Be Special by Szymon Janiak

The post was originally published in Polish on Szymon’s LinkedIn profile. Szymon kindly agreed to republish what we think is of great value to our readers.

Everyone has to be unique. To have an extraordinary career, spectacular achievements, to stand out among others. The world tells us that being ‘average’ is a failure. So we hear:

“You have to stand out.”

“You have to leave a mark.“

“You must have great ambitions.“

You hear it from all sides–from coaches, entrepreneurs, motivational speakers. Because if you don’t have millions in your account, you don’t manage a global business, and you don’t change the world, then something is wrong with you.

But are you sure? What if mediocrity is plain peace? What if stability is not ‘stagnation’ at all, but a conscious choice? What if not everyone has to ‘stand out’ because not everyone needs it?

I’ve seen too many people burn themselves in the rat race trying to prove to the world that they are special. People who earn millions but don’t have time to see their children grow up. Those who have turned their lives into one big chase for something that doesn’t give them happiness at all.

Not everyone wants to be a leader, entrepreneur, or influencer. And that’s okay.

You can have a “regular” job and be happy with it. You can earn on average, but have time for yourself and your loved ones. You may not want to “keep growing” if you already have what works for you.

And yet society tells us that this is not enough. That if you don’t aspire to great things, you’re wasting your life. Meanwhile, for many people, “mediocrity” simply means living life on their own terms, without pressure and constant pursuit of something more.

Not everyone has to “change the world”. Not everyone wants to live under the constant pressure of “greater success”.

And that’s OK too.

The comment section had to add:

This is a paradox of our time: everyone is chasing success, but few know what it really means to them. The problem is that this vision is so distant for most that instead of motivating, it causes frustration. If I “can’t make it” anyway, why try? At the same time, the fear of rejecting this path blocks them from looking for what could really give them happiness.

– Agnieszka Baranowska, Career Coach

This has nothing to do with anything. For a minimum wage, it is the creditworthiness that currently allows young people to buy an allotment garden at most, but not an apartment or a house where it’s possible to raise children in decent standards and each child has their own corner at the very least. Brilliantly, the rich persuaded the poor that money doesn’t bring happiness. “I am so unhappy with my money that I will keep it.”

– Szymon Klepacz, Owner, Senior PLC Programmer, Automation Engineer and Consultant at S Integration

In my opinion, the pursuit of this mythical uniqueness is a road to nowhere. Not only for the reasons described, but also from the point of view of pure statistics: if we consider a certain range of the most common instances to be average, it will not be possible for everyone to go beyond it by definition. Because if they do, a new mediocrity will arise, and on and on without end.

– Dr Nikodem Sarna, Assistant Professor at Kozminski University

Let’s start with the fact that no one has to do anything. Most people simply cannot visualize alternative choices and their consequences, so they look for ready-made models and imitate them.

– Ewa Bartnik, VP & CFO at Imker_pl

I wonder what is incorrect about the statement “you have to stand out.” The pressure of the modern world, whether business or relational, is pushing in this direction, whether we like it or not. It’s nice if it’s only about choice, meaning that if you don’t earn those extra millions, you already have a lot on our account. Unfortunately, in many cases, the lack of uniqueness means that one simply does not exist.

– Rafał Lemancewic, Owner at Infron