"Rejecting Mediocrity"
"If you live as a hero, you will die as a ghost hero." The Chinese have always been good at grand narratives. Even when they are ghosts, they don't forget to be "ghost heroes" and work hard. He will not stop dying, "Behead Yama with a hundred thousand banners."
Confucius said that one must sacrifice one's life to achieve benevolence, and Mencius said that one must sacrifice one's life for righteousness. The magnificent heroic complex has a profound influence on the Chinese people.
The master is like a lost dog, still running around among the six countries, singing without stopping, why is this? "Cultivation of one's character, order of family, governance of country, peace of the world" is the same. Zhang Zai of the Northern Song Dynasty put it better: "Establish a heart for the world, establish a destiny for the people, carry on the unique knowledge for the saints, and create peace for all generations."
It is under the influence of this kind of thinking that China People have always admired the warriors who raised their arms and responded to the call, the heroes who shook the world and made mountains and rivers magnificent, the heroes who turned the tide before it fell and helped the building that was about to collapse. In the midst of talking and laughing, the gangsters are wiped out; in a blink of an eye, the small world can turn around, no matter how many flies hit the wall. It cannot be famous for a hundred years, but it must be infamous for thousands of years. In short, risking your life to leave a mark in history is called "rejecting mediocrity."
What is mediocrity?
Zhou Lianggong of the Qing Dynasty said: "A mediocre son has no talent to show himself, and no reputation to shock the world."
This is the first appearance of "mediocrity". The meaning is extremely obvious. Ordinary people have no talent to show themselves, and no reputation to shock worldly people. Ordinary but not brilliant, ordinary but incompetent. These are all the "crimes" of mediocrity.
But what’s wrong with being “ordinary”? What's wrong with "having no talent"? Why must we "show our talents and shock the world" and "show our talents and make great achievements"?
Reject mediocrity, is there also a kind of loneliness and intolerance at work in today's society?
The rampant utilitarianism has caused many people to reject mediocrity and long for a career in success. They rush after the bad things and seize advantageous terrain, and then they can honor their family lineage, glorify their ancestors, and earn a cup of gold. The bowl is full and fame and wealth are gained.
In "Rejecting Impetuousness", Mr. Wu Fei also criticized some chaos in the education sector, including the impetuousness of rejecting mediocrity.
Why always think about "coming up with new tricks" in class? Innovation is not about being in the limelight or stealing the limelight. Nowadays, some people in the education field are pursuing "sensational effect" and everything is for the sake of fame. Some people want to make some noise all day long, let the whole province know, let the Ministry of Education know, or let all colleagues know. This will inevitably deviate from the teacher's responsibilities.
Don’t rush to introduce it to others when you just have an idea (some people call this “squatting”). Compared with your peers, you only need to test whether you are doing the right thing and whether it is good or not, rather than trying to compete with others for the "right to invent". There are so many Chinese characters, which one was created by you? Except for some sick sentences that are your own invention, it is almost impossible for you to have any invention rights.
Of course, being able to show off one's talents and make great achievements is still worthy of praise. It at least represents an upward value orientation. But we must not forget that many social elites who reject mediocrity, once they rise to the top and occupy the right to speak in society, not many become the conscience of the times and the patron saint of the people; on the contrary, many people use their lips and tongues to demagogue people. , becoming a moth and scum that brings disaster to the country and the people. A beautiful doctor from Tsinghua University refused to be mediocre. After going abroad, she immediately sold the Beidou satellite positioning data that she had worked tirelessly to calculate to the U.S. Department of Defense. This poses a major challenge to our national security.
Jin Ma said in "The Theory of Emotional Wisdom": "Once first-rate emotions and first-rate wisdom merge, they can often lead to a glorious life; while first-rate wisdom and second-rate emotions, once they merge, can often lead to a glorious life." It leads to third-rate morality, fourth-rate dedication, and a poor life.”
What does such an extraordinary person have to do with the people, and what benefit does it have to society? Even the less mediocre these people are, the greater the harm to society.
In fact, ordinary life, mediocre life, as long as you are innocent and happy, isn't it also a life choice? In particular, I pursued and worked hard. Although the results were mediocre, I was still indifferent to happiness. Isn’t it more of a state of life?
Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory puts it well: the lowest is physiological needs, followed by safety needs, then belonging and love needs, third esteem needs, and finally self-actualization needs.
Rejecting mediocrity, the correct understanding should be that the improvement of the level of self-needs is a kind of human practice. After all, people do not live to eat rice, but they are not a rush to the outside world. and scramble. The Ugly Duckling does not reject mediocrity, but the discovery of his swan nature makes him yearn for the blue sky; Cinderella does not reject mediocrity, but her persistent pursuit of love makes her unrepentant. Also, the lily on the cliff blooms on the cliff not to compete with other flowers, but because I am a lily and I must bloom. I want to blossom, just the realization of myself. This is the most powerful reason to reject mediocrity.
An athlete who climbed Mount Everest said it best: "After climbing Mount Everest, I discovered that I had conquered nothing but myself." Mr. Lu Xun also said: "I Every time I watch a sports meeting, I often think like this. The winners are respectable, but those competitors who are behind but still don’t stop running to the finish line, and those spectators who watch such competitors without smiling, are the future. The true backbone of China. “Why are you so afraid of mediocrity? Why do you always think about conquering others? Why do you always think about being one head above others?
In my opinion, when a society can tolerate ordinary or even mediocre life, it is the real progress of this society.
Russell said: "Variety is the source of happiness." You have the right to pursue excellence, and I have the freedom to protect mediocrity. What's more, excellence and mediocrity are just facts, not values. The beauty lies in the majesty of the river going eastward, and the gracefulness of the small bridges and flowing water. Aren’t these two extreme states part of life?
There are no two identical leaves, and it is difficult to have an unchanging pursuit of life. Since there are people standing at the top of the pyramid, there must be people who are firmly at the bottom of the pyramid. Without the background of green leaves, how can the beauty of red flowers be achieved? Without mediocre people as a foundation, outstanding people will lose their reason for existence. Napoleon said, I am taller than the Alps. If there weren't those ordinary ordinary soldiers behind. This sentence can only be understood as crazy talk.
From this perspective, mediocre people sometimes need a great responsibility. However, our society abides by the law of the jungle and has always been a paradise for the strong and an abyss for the weak. As the saying goes - the winner is the king, the loser is the thief.
Being ordinary is even disdainful; being mediocre is even more shameful. No wonder people reject mediocrity.
Thus, mediocre people like me must also reject mediocrity, throw off their arms, and go big. But, unfortunately, the fatal thing is that although we have been "rejecting", we have always been "mediocre". In a limited historical cycle, I believe we will continue to be mediocre collectively from generation to generation. What is the reason for this?
First of all, there are historical reasons.
I am a hero when a tiger comes out of the gate. The opposite of this sentence is "a dragon is matched with a dragon, a phoenix is ??matched with the wind, and a sparrow is only matched with a hole in a haystack."
Because of the unfair distribution of society, limited resources are plundered, and there are no heroes in troubled times. Opportunities, little people like us can only live under the existing rules. No matter you refuse them or not, you will always remain mediocre.
In addition to the self-entertainment of Super Girl, which has been restricted, have we ever had a black Obama-style civilian star-making feat?
The second is social squeeze.
Many people who refuse to be mediocre, continue to struggle, bleed, and sacrifice, and finally learn to be smart. In order to survive, I had to put my tail between my legs and be a human being.
"If the trees are beautiful in the forest, the wind will destroy them." "People are afraid of being famous and pigs are afraid of being strong", "A gun will kill the first bird" and "The first rafter will die first". This is not only a lesson from history, but also a wake-up call from reality.
This is an era when there is no need for civilian heroes, and there will be no civilian heroes.
Finally, there is the collective unconscious.
On the one hand, we must be willing to be mediocre and be a screw. We will screw wherever we are needed. On a huge machine, we can bring out the value of our little people. We are all tools, how can we be a living person? No wonder we are all singing "Little Grass" anesthetizing ourselves: "Without the fragrance of flowers, without the height of trees, I am a grass that no one knows. I am never lonely, never troubled, you see, I have friends all over the world." No one is poor, no one is widowed, no one is in peace, the "grassroots" are all singing the same song.
On the one hand, it fools us into saying that we must reject mediocrity. Let us feel the joy of being the master of the country, the freedom to say "no", the right to "refuse", and even the bright future after rejecting mediocrity. Although the road is tortuous, the future seems bright. Once "mediocrity" is rejected, we seem to be able to become "steeply expensive". The pawns crossing the river raced against the cart, and one person ascended to the sky, becoming an immortal like a chicken or a dog. But history and reality tell us not to be obsessed with rejecting mediocrity. Rejecting mediocrity is just a legend.
Do you remember a particularly popular song? Do you know why it is so popular?
Sometimes I feel like a little bird
I want to fly but I can’t fly high
Maybe one day I will climb a branch But became the target of hunters
At that moment, all the mediocre people, including me, were heartbroken and burst into tears...
Rejecting mediocrity means denying mediocrity, but social groups are It is composed of a vast majority of mediocre people. It is not that they have made no achievements in the development of society, but they are just small. As an educator, they should be encouraged rather than denied.
When people compete with each other for "doing", it is mostly a "doing" that harms others and benefits oneself; when officials compete for "doing", it is mostly a "doing" that wastes people and money; when generals compete with generals for "doing", Most of them are the "action" of one general achieving great success, and the "action" of countries fighting against each other is mostly the "action" of exercising hegemony.
Zhuge Liang supported the Han Dynasty and went out of Qishan six times, insisting on the Northern Expedition, but the country of Shu was impoverished and the people were depleted. Rivers of blood flowed in every battle, and those killed in the battle were all sons and husbands. Zhuge Liang's "action" was the same as that of a jackal. What's the difference? Nuclear weapons made by human beings can destroy the earth several times. How do human beings explain their "actions" to every flower, every grass, every ant and every bacterium? China and the United States are so big, from a cosmic perspective, they are just two tentacles of a snail.
The British just set foot on Australian soil and raised a few rabbits. However, there were no natural enemies of rabbits in the Australian native chain. In just a few decades, the number of rabbits multiplied rapidly to hundreds of millions, vegetation was destroyed, and soil and water were lost. , this is a "do" that harms nature. Everything in the heaven and earth is one thing. Why use "man-made" to transform "heaven"? The sun shines on the earth and moistens all things. "Heaven" is based on the values ????of "man-made". There is no preference for right or wrong. Passive aggressive…. So the strong title is "wei". If a person uses "man" to harm "heaven", he is like a fish spoiling the water.
The above-mentioned "rash" people account for 20% of the population. Most of them are wealthy businessmen, dignitaries and upper-class groups squandering 80% of material resources. However, the law of the world is that if there is gain, there will be loss. ” and “chasing day and night” have not increased or decreased as a whole, so why should we fight for the immediate vested interests like a monkey?
Only 10% of the people in the world have "great achievements". Dayu controlled the floods, gathered everyone's strength, and dredged the floods and seas of people. Dayu had all the virtues and talents at his disposal. Wu Renbao led the villagers to collectively get rich. "It is good for the people, but it is difficult to be an official." Words and deeds are consistent. Wearing plain clothes and cloth shoes, eating egg noodles for meals, smiling like a child, Wu Renbao is always ready for virtue and talent. Those who do "great deeds" must have "great virtues". Their words and deeds can make everyone imitate them, their decisions can make everyone listen, and they can unite everyone's efforts to serve everyone.
There is also an adult who is ups and downs in "youwei". Yan Hui has made no achievements in his life. Although he has virtue and talent, he is not in his right time. Mencius also said: "Yu Ji Yan Hui is like this when he changes places. "Yue Fei went out to conquer gold, but his ambition was hard to realize, but he died on "unwarranted" charges. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the world was in turmoil, and the sentence "Few celebrities have integrity" made future generations tremble with fear just reading it. Xu Yougong of the Tang Dynasty refused Wu Zetian's appointment on the grounds that "your majesty uses ministers as judges and they abide by the law, so they will inevitably offend him."
Indeed, if one cannot be "at peace" with those in power and cannot "do something" within a defined circle, one's situation will be the same as that of a deer running around in the mountains and forests, and the fate of life and death depends on the fate of the cook.
The remaining 60% are mediocre people, and their "doing" is in bits and pieces, which can be called "small doings". Mediocre people are like sparrows, without the ability to fight in the sky, and without the ambition to chart the South China Sea. The sun is jumping happily among the mulberry and elm trees, but the sparrow follows its nature, adheres to its instinct, and is content with its duties, which is also wonderful. If you can not be restrained by fame and fortune, don't worry about wealth, don't desire your body, don't confuse your mind, and hear snoring when you go to bed, what could be happier than this? If you can have a harmonious family, listen to your parents nagging, and listen to your children playing, what could be happier than this? Rejecting mediocrity is just a joke advocated by mediocre people
After I got the Chinese language test paper, I habitually looked at the essay question "Rejecting Mediocrity" and immediately felt a lot. This is my ideal and ideal since childhood. Wishes? After so many years of study, including continuous hard work in the future, isn’t it just to avoid being mediocre in this life?
I believe that everyone does not want to live a mediocre life. Napoleon said, "A soldier who does not want to be a general is not a good soldier." Can everyone really become a general? In that case, if you say you want to be a soldier, there will always be someone who will be a soldier, right? Isn't it because of the efforts of so many ordinary soldiers that the battle was won, which shows that the general is not mediocre? But who can say that those unknown soldiers are mediocre? Paul said, "When a person looks back on the past, he will not regret for wasting his years, nor be ashamed of being incompetent." He is not mediocre, but who can say that those who sacrificed with him in the war, even their names, are not mediocre. Are the countless comrades who failed to stay mediocre?
Throughout the ages, whether in the officialdom or in the workplace, everything has been full of intrigues, flattery, and intrigues. In the final analysis, it is not because everyone does not want to be mediocre, everyone wants to be superior, and everyone wants to stand out. Those who can truly be more than mediocre. How many. Personally, I feel that in this age of materialistic desires, if you can be calm and low-key, maintain a normal heart, maintain the authenticity in your heart, and do your job conscientiously, you can truly achieve the goal of "everything is possible" People who are "floating clouds" are truly extraordinary. Everyone comes into this world with his or her own value. Being pregnant is like being pregnant. It will be discovered over time. Gold will always shine.
Of course, it is not and cannot be that everyone is so good. Excellent people do not need to be too showy. As the saying goes, "The trees are beautiful in the forest, and the wind will destroy them. If they pile up on the shore, the waves will be turbulent. If you are higher than others, everyone will reject you." People who are not that good do not have to feel inferior. A small thing, an ordinary thing, something beneficial to others, if you have done it for a long time, you will not be mediocre, like Shi Chuanxiang, Lei Feng, and many others. There are many teachers who insist on teaching in poor areas.
Everyone has different experiences in all aspects, and it is impossible for everyone to be mediocre. It is best if you can be mediocre in this life. If you can't, there is no need to regret. Live happily and be ordinary. Talk about it, just feel happy and have a clear conscience. As the saying goes, "All life is just a dream. Why should a man be successful?" Although women are not mentioned, I think it is also applicable to women. Finally, I wrote a limerick to encourage everyone, "You must reject anything that goes against your will. Never refuse as a human being. There is a balance in your heart. Harmony is the mean."