It happens every year. We come back from our summer holidays determined to do better and be better at the things we let slack the year before.
But better is not always best in a world awash with words like elite, premium and superior says socio-linguist Crispin Thurlow. He's a professor of language and communication at the University of Bern.
We are constantly pushed to take things to the next level when instead, he says, embracing mediocrity and having the courage to be ordinary may actually be the path to contentment.
His work on linguistics will bring him to New Zealand in June.
Crispin Thurlow Photo: Daneil Rihs © 2020 Crispin Thurlow
