Friday, February 28, 2014

10 Compelling Reasons To NOT Be Average


If you’re ever tempted to settle for less, blend in with the crowd and just be average…here’s 10 things to help you quickly get over that urge…

   1.  The average person is sick, tired and stressed.

The average person gets between 2 – 4 colds per year, the average cold lasting for a week each time. That’s 2 – 4 weeks of every year feeling stuffed up and miserable. 

About a quarter of the adult population have been diagnosed with some form of arthritis, 9% of people suffer from asthma, 1.5 million new cancer cases diagnosed each year, more than 60% of adults have some form of heart disease.

In the UK alone, 25 million working/school days are lost every year due to migraine headaches. 75% of women experience PMS symptoms, in 30 - 40% of women, PMS symptoms are severe enough to impair their daily activities.

53% of adults report feeling fatigued, 18.8 million American adults have depression, 80% of people are stressed over money, 55% of people don't have enough time to do the things they want to do. (Source)

Yes, it's fun being average, alright....

   2.  The average person is not very happy. 

This study in America  found only 1 in 3 people stated they were very happy. 

Unfortunately for them, the “average” person hasn’t yet realized that happiness is a choice that only they can make, and no relationship/job/location/financial status will do it for them…

  3.  The average person does not like themselves very much.

Approximately 91% of women are not happy with their body, and 30% are so dissatisfied with themselves they would consider plastic surgery to correct their perceived flaws. 

Somewhat surprisingly, men are also becoming more vulnerable to body image issues. Men’s body image dissatisfaction has tripled in the past 25 years, from 15% to 45%. Men account for 30% of all plastic surgery procedures.

      4. The average person is living a lie.

Australian palliative care nurse, Bonnie Ware published a book called “The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying” after caring and learning for many people at the end of their lives.

The number one most common regret of the dying was not living an authentic life (i.e living a life according to other’s expectations) and the 3rd most common regret was not having the courage to express their feelings.

Let the living learn a lesson from the dying…

      5. The average person is in debt.

Recent debt figures for the US: The average household owes over $7000 on credit card debt, over $149,000 on the mortgage and the average student loan debt is more than $32,000. 

Meanwhile, Aussies lead the world in terms of personal debt. Australia’s personal debt levels are now higher than the annual GDP. Aussies owe more than 1.2 trillion in credit card debt, mortgages and personal loans, which works out to be around US$56,000 for every adult in the country.

   6.   The average person is overweight.

In Australia, more than 60% of the adult population is overweight or obese. In the UK, it’s 64% of adults, and in the US, more than 2 in 3 adults are considered overweight or obese.

That’s right, folks. If you are a healthy weight and live in one of these countries, you are now in the minority...

     7.  The average person spends 9 years of their life watching TV. 

If that doesn’t disturb you enough, consider the following stats: The number of violent acts seen on TV by age 18 is estimated to be 150,000. 

Percentage of 4 – 6 year olds who, if given a choice to watch TV or spend time with their father, chose TV: 54% 

Seriously, though... NINE YEARS!! That’s plenty long enough to travel around the world, write a couple books, raise enough money to start your own orphanage, learn a language or two, train for and run a marathon AND get a university degree!

 8.  The average person is living in fear.

      75% of American adults are afraid of public speaking, 68% are afraid of dying, 30% are afraid of spiders, 11% are afraid of the dark, almost 8% are afraid of people and social situations, 6% are afraid of flying.

  9.   The average person is embarrassingly unfit.

60% of adults don’t get the recommended daily amount of physical activity, and a 25% of all adults don’t do ANY physical activity. 

(One wonders how such a feat is even possible…but there you have it!)

10. The average person is working in a job s/he doesn’t even like.

      In a recent study, only 19% of respondents said they were satisfied with their work.

     A whopping 65% of people said they were “somewhat” or completely dissatisfied with their work, but only half of those people would actively do something about it (by seeking a new job)… 

2 comments:

Unknown said...

This was such an interesting read, Kate. I found number 4 particularly interesting. I hope that when I get to the end of my life I don't have that regret.

Kate said...

Thank you! The more I look around, the more I see people shedding their layers, and seeking to live more authentically, despite society's persistent efforts to squash us back into the neat little boxes we're "supposed" to occupy!

But still, perhaps it takes a lifetime to know who we truly are, and the best any of us can do is just keep learning :-)