Ted Audio Collective.

Audio Collective.

You're listening to Ted Talks Daily.

I'm your host, Elise Hugh.

We live in a culture that's relentlessly focused on being better or the best.

I mean, you're listening to a TED Talk right now after all.

But in his 2022 talk Ted X Basil, sociolinguist Crispin Thorough wants

us to celebrate our ordinariness. Be okay with being mediocre without feeling like a failure.

He explains after the break.

So a few years ago, I had to make a work trip to Stockholm because it was the school holidays I needed to take my two kids along with me and at the time they were 14 and 12.

Anyway, my local colleagues, needless to say, were really very supportive.

And in fact, knowing that I do research on language and social class,

they'd also clearly enjoyed arranging to put us into a hotel belonging by a large Swedish chain called

elite hotels.

So on the day that we arrived, we checked in and then we made our way straight up to our room.

But as soon as we crossed the threshold, my oldest son declared with genuine frustration,

but this isn't elite. And I was a little bit surprised,

but also kind of really curious to know exactly what he meant.

So I sort of pressed him, and he quickly explained to me

that the room was just not big enough to be elite.

So in that moment I realized that my son had already learned two really important

lessons about everyday language.

...