Takeaway: How do you deal with being "average"?

Hello everyone, a few days ago, I made a post about feeling average.

Lots of you have been truly helpful, and I really appreciated it.

To give back to the community, I compiled your answers.

Hopefully you'll find it as useful as I did.

25 advice I got from the IndieHackers community:

1. Embrace who you are.

Accept being a jack of all trades to your deepest core and own the journey.

Don't try to live up to other people's standards and don't try to be someone you are not.

2. Your average is high competence in the eyes of someone else.

You are the best you, and you are the only you.

Nobody is average.

You can always improve with the right plan and the right help.

3. Everyone's journey is different.

Social media is a dangerous place to compare ourselves.

The person you see online is often an ideal version of themselves that they want you to see.

Remember, you are unique and have your own special talents and abilities.

4. See top performers as inspiration, not competitors.

It can be easy to get caught up in comparing yourself to others and feeling like you don't measure up.

Don't compare yourself to others, instead focus on yourself and your own journey and your own progress.

5. No one has it figured all out.

There are hundreds of thousands of people doubting skills as well, and most of them are probably not as good as you are.

6. Focusing on being expert in too many areas at once can be a waste of our limited time and resources.

In today's fast-paced world, the rate at which mastering specific skills becomes outdated is too high to keep up with.

Plus, most of the expert-level stuff isn't useful as the basics are often what are the most needed.

7. It's normal to be scared.

Fear failure, fear of being an imposter, or any other fears or normal.

Remember that if it doesn't work, it doesn't mean that you are a fraud, it simply means that the experiment didn't work, not you.

8. It's OK to be average.

Being average at a lot of things is extremely valuable.

We are not all built the same way, so it would be wrong to compare ourselves to others.

Be persistent, even when things feel off as it takes time and consistency to build as a skill.

9. Continuous learning and improvement are the way to go.

To get better in certain fields, all it takes is a little learning and practice. Doing this for some time will make you above average in your endeavours.

Read 10 books on a topic you're interested in, and you'll be ahead of 99% of the people, even people with deep knowledge of that subject.

Every startup is a 5,000-piece puzzle, and we are all just trying to find the four corners to start with.

10. Show up and be consistent

Consistently showing up with a clear plan and strategy is essential for anyone, regardless of their level of expertise, to build something good.

The more you show up, the more you gain experience which will show in skills and results.

11. Consistent practice is key.

Everyone is just as average as you are, they just worked a bit harder and completed more things.

Commit to simply keep working on what we know we should be working on, one day or another, we will get to where we wished so deeply a long time ago.

12. Slow down when you're out of preparation.

We all have self-doubt, the way you build yourself up through very small deliberate practice of reflection over long periods of time.

13. No one ships lots of great products in a short time.

They've either spent a large amount of time building up systems in which they make pretty good things quickly, or it's all smoke and mirrors.

14. Create more templates

Having a template project will help you streamline the process of building new projects by using a generic structure for design, code, and marketing flows.

15. Put in the work

If you wake up every day and do your best, then eventually you will get what you need. All you can do is improve yourself.

Start small. The gains will compound over time.

16. Stay positive

Keep a positive attitude and remind yourself that personal growth and development is a lifelong process.

Every day, wake up and say that you are the greatest [insert your title]/human being ever believe in yourself!

17. Care about yourself

Prioritize your own health, motivation, and personal development while working on a project.

You are the driving force behind the project, it's essential to ensure that you are taking care of yourself first.

18. Learn from others

Look to people around you who have achieved success in areas where you feel average, and learn from their experiences and strategies.

19. Have a sound board

Having a friend, co-founder, or partner to talk about your motivations, feelings, and ideas is the best way to take a step back and reflect.

Seeing our reflections from others' perspectives can sometimes provide a clearer vision.

20. Focus on what matters and reframe your thoughts

Don't focus on what you feel you might be missing out on, focus on your strengths and the things you are good at.

Pay attention to the value of all the little things you already have in you life, and you'll discover contentment in your 'ordinary' existence.

21. Set goals

Identify areas in which you would like to improve and set specific, measurable goals to work towards.

22. Know where you're heading

Make up your list of the 6 to 12 things that make you happy in building a business and do something that will bring you closer to them each day.

23. Acknowledge your choice of being an indie creator

You made a conscious decision to not work as a full-time employee for a large corporation. Instead, you choose to have a diverse set of skills and expertise in multiple fields, rather than honing in on just one highly specialized skill.

24. Know your weaknesses

Identify the key areas that will take the end product from average to excellent, then partner with experts in that area.

25. Being good at teaching something is different from executing it.

Teaching is just giving advice, not doing the work. And doing the work means being responsible in being consistent and following your own advice.

It takes a lot of time, grind, and consistency to find traction for your business or product.