Raising Middle Schoolers

One Word- IMPOSSIBLE.  I love my oldest son with all of my heart, but as a middle schooler, he certainly knows how to push my buttons.  He is unbelievably intelligent, but is perfectly OK with doing mediocre work.  Don't get me wrong, this mediocrity applies to all areas of life:  house work, school, hobbies, and just about anything else I can think of.  It physically pains me to watch him under perform when he is capable of so much greatness.  It seems like pushing him harder doesn't work, encouraging him more doesn't work, taking privileges, doesn't work... maybe you are seeing a theme here?  If anyone has any suggestions of how to survive life with a middle school boy, then I am open to hear it.   I may stick with my original idea for middle school children- send them to live on a different planet and they can return when they become normal human beings again.  In my teaching experience, this period typically seems to end somewhere between ninth and tenth grade.  I didn't realize how long that seemed until I had a middle school child of my own.  Prayers Please :)