Mediocrity as a path to improvement: Covid-19 thrust new roles and responsibilities onto most of us, leaving many feeling helpless and possibly mediocre. But moments when we feel our least capable can also be the most crucial to finding success, despite our frustrations with the initial challenge, David Bodanis writes for the Financial Times. Expounding on the generative power of mediocrity, Bodanis maintains that with the right attitude, certain defeats can actually illuminate a wide range of possibilities that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

The liberation of failure: Hitting rock bottom can be tough to bear but it can also develop a useful sense of urgency to figure things out, Bodanis explains. JK Rowling, the author behind the Harry Potter series who was a single mother and self-described failure when she started writing, exemplifies the surge in energy that can accompany feeling like you need to get your act together.

Getting that rock bottom clarity: There’s also clarity that comes with having nothing to lose once you’ve found yourself at a distance from a clear path to success. Decisions can then be made from a broader view of things that can incorporate some creativity into how you might take the next steps to reinvent yourself. Being able to step back and restrategize can give you a chance to change course into something more rewarding, says Bodanis, giving the example of renowned Portuguese football manager José Mourinho, whose career as a player was unnotable, but who became a household name as a manager.

The creativity of necessity: Examining what you’ve done so far and why it hasn’t yielded the desired results can be an impetus for a more creative approach. Not being weighed down by success is an advantage here, as people rarely walk away from, or question something, if it seems to be working for them. The appearance of success can blind you to other possibilities, and mediocrity can be a liberating position from which to consider how things could be done differently.

Not buying it? Neither are a lot of people, who still maintain that a 10-step plan can drag you out of mediocrity, and that “choosing” success can get you where you want to go, though most people are too risk averse to decide to make a change. Plunging headfirst into mediocrity and seeing what it can teach us, as Bodanis suggests, may be the refreshing anti-advice we were waiting for.