Wackster, thank you for asking such a hard hitting question.

If the only way not to be mediocre is to move the needle for all humanity, then hardly anyone (relative to global population across time) will escape its net.

Perhaps a better test is whether an individual manages, across his entire lifespan, to significantly move the needle of his own humanity. Is he an excellent man in general? Is he an excellent husband and father, specifically? Did he also find one or two good things to do with his time and achieve excellence in them?

In seeking to evade mediocrity's clutches, success is not that one's achievements are written into the history books but it is which version of your two potential paths you traverse. If you systematically pursue the low road, mediocrity is yours. If you systematically choose the high road, then you leave medicority behind.

I think that God, in each moment of our lives, gives us an opportunity to do not just the right action but also the better action. Yes, there will be some days when you rest and recuparate. Other days will have significant lapses in charachter and focus. But overall, if one's heart is settled on the higher path, good choices and good actions will compound over time. If so, the concern over whether one is mediocre or not will fade into insignificance because the focus will be on the higher path and the higher goals.