Have you ever felt average? That you're not special or extraordinary, just . . . normal?

And that chances are society's obsession with always being the best and smashing life is setting us up for failure?

Years of striving and pushing to be better than everyone else are breaking us. Fear of disappointment and our pursuit of someone else's definition of success tell us we're not enough. They tell us to work late, then work hard in the gym, overcommit, then post about #selfcare on our painstakingly curated social media feeds. They tell us to push ourselves until we break, all to prove our worth, to show we deserve our place.

But are we tolerating the lows to reach the fleeting highs, and are we missing all the good stuff along the way? Why are we programmed to live like this, and is it society that needs to change, not us?

One thing's for sure - it's better to be average and happy than exceptional and miserable. We're all good enough, just as we are.

Eleanor Ross is an award-winning journalist who has reported from Iqaluit in Arctic Canada to Osh in Kyrgyzstan. She has written for all major UK broadsheets, loves hiking, and has written a book about outdoor adventures in London. When she's not writing, she's walking with her dog, Mabel.