Raising Your Standards Is the Key to Personal Progress

If you think about low standards of living, you might think slums, or low-income housing. However, some people who live in low-income housing have really nice layouts and do as best they can. They may have low income but their standard of living is higher with a second look.

However, if living in your mom’s basement is okay with you, then you’ll likely be down there until you’re 40. Now, if you are there with your mom needs support and cannot live without help, that’s a whole new topic. Right now, we are looking at someone who literally is capable to live on their own without hindering nor harming their parent and choose to stay with momma.

Most people believe they’re reasonable or non-selfish when they set low standards. The disempowerment of baseline acceptance leads one to the concept: You get what you tolerate in life.

When you set high standards you demonstrate respect to yourself. You get the most out of your life when you live within the standard you set. Life will rarely give you more than you demand from it.

Try these ideas:

Identify the area of your life you’d like to change. Of course, you could raise all of your values. A mountain tall goal might seem to give you a great push, but you may find yourself crashing upon the rocks and losing momentum. However, short-term success will be tremendous if you focus your attention on a single part of everyday life. It might be finances, relationships, health, or any other category.

Set a new minimum. Let’s imagine that you want to improve your finances. You might need new standards for your income, rate of savings, and spending. Take a look at all the items related to your area of focus and set a new minimum for what you’re willing to tolerate.

According to Forbes, “The granddaughter of the L’Oréal founder, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers was the wealthiest woman in the world as of March 2021. Her and her family’s net worth was estimated at 73.6 billion U.S. dollars.” If you think about her abilities to grow an already large company, and then ask if she wanted to resign with less, you’d hear a resounding “no” as she kept progress in her inheritance.

Do you think Warren Buffett would be happy with a 2.2% return on his portfolio?

Of course not, and that’s a big part of the reason they’re wealthy. As a matter of fact, Mr. Buffett remarks about his hiring process:

We look for three things when we hire people. We look for intelligence, we look for initiative or energy, and we look for integrity. And if they don’t have the latter, the first two will kill you, because if you’re going to get someone without integrity, you want them lazy and dumb ~Warren Buffett, INC. Magazine.

Even in his hiring, Mr. Buffett utilizes wisdom to increase the positive return in his work. He continues his excellence because improvement is the element in personal growth, both financially and emotionally.

Begin making changes.

Add new standards as a starting point. Now, you have to make actual changes to your life and behavior to meet those new minimums. If you need to increase your income to meet your new standard, it might be necessary to look for a new job or create a business you can run on the side.

Remember, you’ll need to weigh your abilities with your goals. If you start a business on the side, make sure you have enough energy to maintain the work you currently do as well as self care. You cannot do it all.

A standard is just a goal. What do you need to do to reach that goal?

Incorporate those changes into your identity. You can force yourself to go to the gym a few times or save an extra $200 each month, but it’s not easy to make those changes stick. You have to believe that it’s part of who you are.

Here’s how you can accomplish that:

If you’re beginning a gym habit, make a note of each time you set foot in the gym. Say to yourself, “See that? I’m the type of person that goes to the gym. I go even if I don’t feel like going. That’s who I am.” It sounds silly, but it works overtime. Keep proving that you’re the type of person who does that behavior religiously.

Monitor yourself. Measure your progress and congratulate yourself on it what you complete. Give yourself a verbal reward. Jump up and down and smile. Ensure you’re enjoying your progress. You’ll be more likely to stick with the changes you’re making.

Keep going. You’ll probably raise your standards many times over your life. Pick a new area of your life to address and go for it. You’re turning yourself into a more successful person with each iteration.

Raising your standards is the first step to improving the quality of your life. Most people don’t consider their standards or have standards, which are far too low to live the type of life they desire. The way to improve yourself is to demand more of you, in a healthy way.

Positively demand more from the people around you, and from the life you want to live. At first, you may struggle to receive more than you’re willing to tolerate. As you improve on yourself, you’ll find the blessings of higher standards makes you stronger.

~Just a thought by Pamela

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Previously Published on medium

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