At what point in your life did you realize you weren't exceptional at anything?

College, which is probably the same for most people. Nothing like meeting people who are smarter, faster, nicer, better looking, and easier to get along with to make it sink in.

Sickman wrote:

Some of the most successful people I've seen are good at only one thing: having no clue that they themselves are unexceptional - or rather that they actually are barely mediocre. BUT, they act as if they know what's going on and people give them the benefit of the doubt ie. "no one would do xxxxxx without a good reason" . The thing is, said individual is usually delusional and lacks any means of self reflection. By the time everyone realizes the fraud that has occurred, said individual has moved on to the next level of management or supposed achievement in which once again, a new bunch of rubes is ready to take direction from him or her and the cycle repeats itself.

Everybody needs somebody to follow. And if you don't people usually think something is wrong with you.

You're a unique individual, just like everybody else.

At some point in college I was looking at T&FN and it dawned on me. I was looking at all these guys running the second half of a 10k faster than I could run an open 5k. That's when I realized I was terrible.

$$$ maker wrote:

Most of us were billed as successful high school runners making us believe we were exceptional. But we're not. Nobody cares about running. Once the running laurels start collecting dust what's left to prove oneself as exceptional? Careers, of course. Well, what happens then?

Embrace your mediocrity. You don't have to be exceptional at things to enjoy life. Just look at Obama. He is exceptionally bad at being president and he seems fine with it.

18

Early 20s...shortly after graduating from college. I'd been only a decent college runner and average student, but I still held out hope that I'd be a great road racer and a solid corporate professional (once I'd found my niche).

Kind of hit me all at the same time. I was barely a good enough runner to win the occasional local "prize money" 10K, and I never had the ambition or skill set to be an exceptional professional. Front that point on I settled into what has been an average existence.

when I started coming to LRC for entertainment.

I got into a top MBA program through a high GPA, good interviewing and a bullsh*t resume of exaggerated positions / experience.

Once I met the people there who had actually done something significant or who had genuinely stellar resumes at age 24-26 I felt like such a loser.

exceptionally mediocre wrote:

$$$ maker wrote:

Most of us were billed as successful high school runners making us believe we were exceptional. But we're not. Nobody cares about running. Once the running laurels start collecting dust what's left to prove oneself as exceptional? Careers, of course. Well, what happens then?

Embrace your mediocrity. You don't have to be exceptional at things to enjoy life. Just look at Obama. He is exceptionally bad at being president and he seems fine with it.

We'll kudos foe being exceptional at coming up with exceptionally bad examples.

You want an exceptionally unexceptional person who became president? Look no further than W. He achieved nothing in life that was not based on his name and connections. He got out of so much $hit (DUIs, AWOL from nat guard, Insider Trading, etc ) for the very same reasons. But he took the name and added a convenient "born again Christian" conversion to become leader of the free world! Now THAT is an exceptional achievement for someone so unexceptional in every way possible (other than family name). And the guy he seemed happy as a clam.

Exactly. College.

Runners on this board are exceptional at their resentment toward those who are more gifted, and their disdain for those who are less gifted.

I cannot think of any other sports where this attitude prevails.