15 Common Habits of Mediocre People

Mediocrity rears its ugly head when people have a poor attitude, misguided philosophy, or bad habits. Know the warning signs and take appropriate action to counter them.

Lack of accountability. You always have a clever excuse or someone to blame so that you can dodge responsibility.

Complacency. You made it to the top and think you can rest on your laurels and live off your past accomplishments.

Victim mentality. You convince yourself that everyone’s against you and that success is beyond your control — so you stop trying to affect the outcome.

Lack of candid feedback. You rarely receive, nor do you want, feedback, so it’s hard for you to know where improvement is needed. As a result, you never learn from mistakes.

Low expectations. You set the bar so low for yourself that you’re pleased with mediocre performance.

Poor reward system. You’ve stopped trying because there’s no distinction in your organization between exceptional and poor performance.

Bad influence. You surround yourself with low achievers. Unfortunately, their behavior is contagious.

Lack of competition. You’re the only game in town, so folks have no option but to do business with you.

No conscience. Politics takes precedence over doing what’s right, and appearances become more important than outcomes.

Get something for nothing. You’re rewarded based on tenure rather than merit, so there’s no incentive to keep up with the times or to go the extra mile.

Poor leadership. You easily achieve results because the bar was set artificially low. The truth is, when you tolerate mediocrity, you get more of it.

Lack of commitment. You dip your toe in the water because you’re afraid to go all in. The result is that a superficial effort leads to superficial results.

Crave acceptance. You lower your personal standards to win social acceptance and become a member of the in-crowd.

Think you’re a know-it-all. You put learning on the back burner and become obsolete over time.

Apathy. You’ve been underperforming for so long you don’t even recognize excellence anymore.

Do You Know Any Mediocre People?

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Additional Reading:

If You’re Not Proud, You’re Not Done

Thanks for a Job Well Done

Never Lower Your Personal Standards. Never!

Who Cares? (I Hope You Do!)

You Can’t Force People to Care

Do You Have a Victim Mentality?

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