Mediocrity is a major problem in Nepal. There might be different reasons like lack of inner motivation, lack of trust and ego issues or simply laziness and carelessness. Yet how much the country could change for the better with more people pushing themselves more. Perhaps, truly Nepal could become an iconic "Asian Tiger" attracting the best minds and investments

Have you ever experienced frustrations because someone is not performing up to the tasks or simply the same person is acting unprofessionally? There are thousands of such situations where people we are dealing with are simply working below their potential or simply they do not put too much care in their work.

It could be the e-mail that go unanswered for several times despite the positive intents you have, for example a new concept note on how youths could be empowered or it could be a request for feedback on your budding business plan or simply a request for a short meeting.

You also have cases where you do not understand why persons are not communicating properly or simply they disappear withholding a bunch of information or updates that could make your job much easier or productive and more meaningful.

I call this the "mediocrity" trap when people are simply not doing enough, most of the time willingly, in terms of accomplishing something. The more you are into it, the more you miss out at life, personally and professionally, because you are refraining from reaching your potential, the best you can be.

Mediocrity is a major problem in Nepal, but I suppose everywhere else.

There might be different reasons like lack of inner motivation, lack of trust, jealousy and ego issues or simply laziness and carelessness.

Yet how much the country could change and improve for the better with more people pushing themselves more. Perhaps, truly Nepal could become an iconic "Asian Tiger" where productivity and excellence attract the best minds and high quantity of productive investments from outside.

The piece comes out of a bit of frustration that oftentimes occurs, and I, like many others, find difficult to deal with it. When such situations do happen, it is essential to remain focused on what actually you can control, and most of the cases where mediocrity reigns are all out of our control.

It is easier saying than doing it so, because, I must admit, sometimes others' unprofessional behaviours can really occupy a lot of your energies and mental focus. So trying to remain anchored to the big picture is essential also because every goal we aim to achieve could be seen as a track and field hurdles race where what counts is not only to be the fastest on each and single lap but also the most skillful at jumping over each obstacle before you.

Being frustrated about mediocrity does not exempt myself from the highest standards that, for example, I do often miss myself.

So a good way to try to come over our mediocrity is to always be self-aware of the way we behave and perform, and such a task requires a good dose of constructive criticism towards ourselves.

How many times did I miss an e-mail from one of our volunteers? How many times did I promise to complete a task and I did not? Such self-reflection is attuned to the fact that each misstep can be a source or an opportunity of new learning, and that's why we should never dramatise over ours and others' act of mediocrity and underperformance.

The most important thing, though, is a willingness to accept that we can all screw up and then at the same time we can all improve.

Have you ever tried with a "Failure Resume"?

I learned about this concept from Kristen Hadeed, the founder of Student Maid, a company employing university students in the USA to clean offices and houses.It is not just a cleaning company but is a real leadership-enhancing platform because students can really enhance their leadership capabilities. Kristen failed miserably at the beginning of her startup when most of her employees resigned en masse. That gigantic failure was something that shocked her but in a positive way so that she could re-start and build an incredibly successful venture.

From here, we can start thinking about all our failures, and at the same time, we can reflect about the reasons we fail and how we can improve from the same. In short, mediocrity is not an incurable disease, but it is something that can be dealt with if we make an effort.

It is also important to think about the reason why others act so miserably and perform so abysmally.

Maybe they have some personal issue going on, something we are not aware of.

Maybe they simply feel unrecognised and not praised for their work and so on, there might be other reasons.

Dealing with mediocrity requires us to be attentive of others' situations and circumstances, but it also requires us to be able to move on even if others keep underperforming.

Improving on mediocrity could change the world, but as I said, it requires an effort, an openness to accept a certain reality and the determination to move on from there.

Ultimately winning over the mediocrity challenge that lays in each of us will also require a big investment on personal accountability.

Accountability is more than just taking responsibility: it is about doing what is due and expected and beyond, and it entails also a lot of humility to accept our shortcomings and a striving to keep going no matter what. We should not forget that more accountability is also critical on creating more trust and enabling a real team work.

Ultimately accountability is a bit like a moral compass that should drive us towards realising the best of ourselves.

This piece is an invitation, also to myself, to not whine and complain too much about others, but instead it is a call to reach the higher levels when others simply fall short.

Hopefully they will realise how much they are missing out and how much a waste of their lives they are making.

Galimberti is the co-founder of ENGAGE, and NGO

A version of this article appears in the print on August 25, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.