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Happy In The Middle

9 July 2018

With supermarkets we are told that the expensive ones at the top of the niche do well. So do those cheapy cheap discount stores at the bottom.

Poundland was doing well for a long time too, but that’s another story.

In tougher times the ones occupying the middle ground struggle, as people have no clear reason to shop there, except perhaps location or size.

With retail it seems sensible to be at one end of the consumer spectrum, or the other, in order to have a clear brand image that can be converted to cash in the till.

With life though I’m not so sure it’s the same.

We may strive for a bigger house and a bigger mortgage to pay for it. A tiny car is great around town and not so good on long journeys. Sometimes the best option is a reasonable house and a reasonable car. Good enough is good enough.

There is a saying amongst those who know boats that ‘there is always someone with a bigger boat.’

You know how it is. You pull into a marina in a sunny part of the South of France. Your new £1million cruiser looks the part. Until you search for a berth and realise, with a shock, that yours is the smallest boat on the block. So, once moored, you call your broker and demand they source you a £3million mega cruiser.

We’ve all been there I’m sure.

The trick is to be happy with what you have, when that is enough for your needs. Maybe plus a bit of extra style to make your pulse quicken.

Having some ambition is great. Too much and we strive for more rewards and can lose sight of what we have. Too little and we never get off the ground.

Being happy in the middle is actually a good place to be. It means we have things that are good enough, without being excessive.

It means we balance ambition with family. We balance time at work with time doing leisure activities. The balance here is often an 80-20 split between work and life and that’s ok. Aiming for 50-50 is admirable and yet very difficult to maintain. It’s always easier to keep up the imbalance. Just try balancing a pencil across your finger. Much easier to lay your finger on a table and have the pencil resting on your finger and the table.

We can all think about ambition and excess and underperformance too. We can take a fresh look at our boat and make sure we are happy in the middle.

Middle is good in life. Often it’s the most comfortable, easiest place to reside in.

Next week: Self Coaching