I assume/ə'sum/ I’m below/bɪ'lo/ average/'ævərɪdʒ/
By Derek Sivers
96% of cancer/'kænsɚ/ patients/'peʃənt/ in a hospital claim to be in better health than the average cancer/‘kænsɚ/ patient.
93% of motorists/'motərɪst/ consider themselves to be safer-than-average drivers.
90% students see themselves as more intelligent than the average student.
94% of college /'kɑlɪdʒ/ professors said they are better-than-average teachers.
Ironically/aɪ'rɑnɪkli/, 92% said they are less biased/'baɪəst/ than average, too.
The psychology/saɪ'kɑlədʒi/ term for this is illusory /ɪ'lusəri/ superiority/su,pɪrɪ'ɔrəti/.
To me, this was like finding out I’m in the Matrix/'metrɪks/. It’s hard to accept facts.
At first, like almost everybody, I thought, “Yes, but I really am above average!” Then I realized I was doing it again.
So I decided to gamble/'ɡæmbl/ on the opposite /'ɑpəzət/:
I now just assume I’m below average.
It serves/sɝv/ me well.
I listen more. I ask a lot of questions.
I’ve stopped thinking others are stupid. I assume most people are smarter than me.
To assume you’re below average is to admit you’re a beginner. It puts you in student mind. It keeps your focus on present practice and future possibilities, and away from any past accomplishments.
Most people are so worried about looking good that they never do anything great.
Most people are so worried about doing something great that they never do anything at all.
You destroy/dɪ'strɔɪ/ that paralysis/pə'ræləsɪs/ when you think of yourself as such a beginner that just doing anything is an accomplishment.
Or even better, an experiment.
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