Why is it that we tend to allow lower standards in our selves while admiring those with very high standards? We are all humans-in-training, so it really comes down to how we as students are learning. The people we look upto are those that have worked very hard to be great and to get where they are in life by creating their own success. Whether it be through hard work, opportunity or even luck, they have reached a level within themselves that they feel great about.
Greatness doesn’t just fall from trees though. It takes hard work. This hard work is what ideally separates us from the people we look upto. We all can achieve success. But, most importantly it takes belief in ourselves to feel worthy of this success. By setting higher standards for ourselves, we set goals to reach higher levels in our life. Our life is full of gifts and opportunities. We need to allow ourselves to reach them, to enjoy them all.
Thousands, even millions of people, in all walks of life, make self-destructive choices and accept less in their life because we have lost touch with our own worthiness to receive better for ourselves. Self-respect is the fruit of discipline. It impacts the many choices we make in life. By realizing you are worthy of greatness you will be on the right path to move into a more expansive, fulfilling life. If you observe your life closely, you will discover that you don’t necessarily get what you deserve. Rather, you get no more and no less than what you “believe” you deserve.
Observe your life right now – your relationships, health, work, finances, education and lifestyle. Are they all working well for you? Do you feel what you are doing have accomplished great things for you or have you felt limitations to succeed? Most importantly, do you feel worthy of receiving greatness if achieved? By raising your own standards within yourself, you set new goals to reach and in the process will feel confident and deserving of your success. By setting higher standards for yourself, you aim for higher results in life, while feeling worthy of receiving these great results.
Some of us may not reach for our goals as we may feel undeserving of them, self-doubt or fear of failure. Some also decline to follow through with goals as they may not align with capacities or reflect our values. But, once we raise and aim for high standards, we start to believe our goals are worth reaching and we are able to achieve these goals. No task is too much with proper planning, preparation and realistic ideals.
Any time you sincerely want to make a change in your life, the first thing you must do is raise your standards. We need to change what we demand of ourself. If we do not set a baseline standard for what you’ll accept in life, you’ll find it easy to slip into behaviors and attitudes or a quality of life that is far below what you deserve. For, we only get what we believe that we deserve. Raise the bar, lift your standards and you will receive a better outcome. We need to lift our personal standards to create change.
Standards are the behaviors you hold yourself to in order to become a better person. They are boundaries we set for ourselves. A boundary is a clear line about what behaviours we will and will not accept from other people. A standard is the clear line about the behaviours you expect from yourself. We can achieve this by writing down all the things you know longer accept in your life, all the things you would no longer tolerate and all the things you aspire to becoming.
Consider all of the people in history that raised their standards and acted in accordance with them, deciding they would tolerate no less. Powerful people such as Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Rosa Parks, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein to name just a few examples. Those that took the magnificently powerful step of lifting their standards. This same power that was available to them is available to you.
To lift our own personal standards, we might need to consider raising our boundaries. We sometimes tolerate how others treat us due to how we treat ourselves. So, we can raise our own personal standards by:
- Choosing standards that improve our life
- Making a list of people you admire and learning their skills and techniques
- Establishing a higher self character and honor
- Working on our personal improvement
Areas in our life we could lift our standards:
- Health – seek high levels of improvement in your body – treat it with respect and set higher standards and get the results for a physically fulfilled life
- Wealth – We only get what we believe we deserve – believe you deserve greatness. Success will not lower its standard to us, we must raise our standard to success.
- Relationships – we are influenced by our social circle. Be around people who respect and inspire you. Let others meet your standard instead of you lowering yours to meet theirs. Know your worth.
- Personal Growth – Rid yourself of negative, unhealthy habits and thoughts
Lifting our standards is personal evolvement, which will need to consistently take us out of our comfort zone. Make small improvements consistently over time. Not everyone’s standards have to be the same. Decide on the person you seek to be then learn to raise your standards to be that person.
Lift your standards, raise your expectations, increase your minimums of what you will allow into you life that does not honor or respect you. Be bold, push the boundries, and you will be rewarded. Raise your standards and the universe will meet you there. Live your life setting high standards for life, love, creativity and wisdom. Setting higher standards makes every day worth looking forward to.
The goal in life is to create a positive, happy, productive life that is fulfilling and brings a feeling of accomplishment. Positive change begins with You!
