There’s a Limit To Raising Your Standards

I remember my first job in recruitment back in 2007. I was the newbie that had to learn everything from scratch. It was a small recruitment agency with a staff of 30 people. Every month, there was either resignation or someone got fired due to a lack of results.

Six months in, my manager wasn’t sure what to do with me. When I found out he was giving me a chance to step up, I had to pull up my socks to kick them up a notch. I was doing ok, but I wasn’t good enough either.

I remember listening to Tony Robbins (with my CD player) on my way to work. He talked about the concept of raising one’s standards to increase the quality of our life. Although I understood the idea, it didn’t click with me until I was close to getting fired from my first job in recruitment.

Below is a video of Tony Robbins explaining the concept.

Tony Robbins — Youtube — Raise your standards

Why do many raise their standards?

It’s simple. Many of us want a better life. We want more money, to have a beautiful relationship, to own a house beside the beach, to travel the world and go on adventures or have a dream career or business.

If we want this kind of life, we must raise our standards. By increasing our standards, we get more focused. We become problem solvers and start building great habits. We must become our shoulds.

When you look at the most successful people in the world, they raised their standards consistently and never looked back.

The Downside

There are two problems I experience when I raise my standards in life. The first one is burnout. I remember making changes to my habits to help me get closer to my yearly goals. I somehow was able to complete my habits for four straight weeks.

Then the 5th week got a little challenging. I got tired both mentally and physically. It was frustrating because I was eating right, exercising, and meditating. I was doing all the right things to ensure I had plenty of energy daily.

Then I realised one crucial part… we are humans, not robots. Sometimes we need a bit of a break. The break can be a day off or a whole two-week holiday.

The second one is losing the WHY. Sometimes we go hard at something and forget why we did it in the first place. We must take the time to remember our purpose, visions and goals consistently. When we lose track of that, we start to feel like life is becoming a drag.

Fast growth vs Steady growth

Growing as a person is like a story about the Rabbit and the Turtle race. You can go hard like a rabbit to become the best person you can be. Alternatively, you can grow slow and steady like the Turtle.

There’s been plenty of times in my life when I got burned out by growing fast like the Rabbit. But when I started to use time as my ally and grow like how the Turtle ran the race, I realised that it was much more sustainable.

Sometimes I have to think like a rabbit and go full force on a goal for a set period. Most of the time, however, I’ll run like the Turtle. Nice and steady at my own pace with my vision locked in.

I don’t want to speed towards my goals without admiring the incredible views around me.

“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”

-Bill Gates

Final thoughts

While I agree that raising our standards will help us catapult to the best version of ourselves, it’s important to remember that there will be times when we need to take a break, both physically and mentally.

Just like a cell phone about to run out of battery, we need to constantly recharge before continuing our journey in life.

The question is, do you know when to recharge? Do you know when it’s time to slow down?

You can watch this video by Jay Shetty below.

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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.

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