How to set high standards for yourself

What standards do you hold yourself to?

And in setting an example for others – do you judge others by the same standard you judge and set for yourself?

It’s easy to let go of the standards you had for yourself either from carelessness, burnout or nonchalance.

What does it mean to set high standards for yourself?

To set high standards for yourself is to always strive to be the best version of yourself hence you no more tolerate certain habits or character traits that no longer serve you.

It manifests in how you carry yourself everyday and what you do consistently.

For example, as strange as it may sound, every year Louis Vuitton supposedly sets fire to all of its unsold goods, and everyone assumes it’s an accident. When you could easily utilize it for charity or recycle it, why destroy something so expensive?

Exclusivity! That is the reason.

Because they NEVER, EVER have sales, Louis Vuitton does this. Because they want the brand to stay as exclusive as possible and because their products are of such high quality, they never conduct sales because they don’t want to mark them down.

As a result, they must dispose of the extra seasonal items, which they do by burning them. If you don’t set standards for yourself, the world would offer you anything.

We’ve got to put in the work with everything we do and make sure its worth our time and energy.

1: Step outta your comfort zone

Sometimes we know what we’re doing and where we are is holding us back and is not serving us – but we cling to it because it’s the safest option possible.

One key part of setting new standards for ourselves is to step out of our comfort zone. We don’t know exactly how It’s going to go and the results but we know what we want to be.

And we won’t settle until we get closer to those goals. It starts with challenging yourself everyday to be better.

2: Live by Principles

Steve Covey gave a perfect explanation on why we all need principles in the “7 habits of highly effective people.”

By building a character ethic and aligning our values with “universal and timeless principles.”

Our values are internal and subjective and govern our behavior but these principles such as Honesty, Love, Kindness act like external natural laws and ultimately determine the consequences.

The seven habits all are based on principles and include

• being proactive
• beginning with the end in mind
• putting first things first
• thinking win-win
• seeking first to understand then to be understood
• synergizing
• and finally sharpening the saw.

This would help you establish a set of values that guide your choices and behaviors. And also set boundaries and stick to them.

Are you afraid of living your truth because of the fear of being judged by society’s standards?

I grew up by the Biblical principles and I still choose it because its set a whole lot of standard for me which I may never have done myself.

3: Set Goals

Understand what you want in life and what you need to do to achieve it. The human mind no matter how satisfied is always yearning for something new and something beyond the status quo.

A high level of dissatisfaction is a common trait that drives high achievers to perform beyond standard norms.

You could leave this process entirely to chance or you could take advantage of it.

Top athletes, coaches, and artists something in common: they put a lot of Reps in and keep on raising their standards even after reaching the top.

My first goal on writing was the 100-day streak, of course, it sounded huge but broken down into daily piece became realistic and achievable.

All I did for those 100 days to help me become consistent at writing:-

• Write at evenings
• Edit in the mornings if necessary
• Post 3 days a week
• Republish any previous post on any other platform e.g. Facebook to keep me accountable

4: Build solid Routines and habits

It takes some mindfulness and structure to form good habits and build Routines. They can tell how much standards you have for yourself.

Rituals define our standards and our daily habits can improve our energy.

For example, most high-value men and women have a morning routine they follow.

E.g. Journaling daily brings clarity.

5: Taking the Right actions

David Goggins broke the internet when the put out the book “Can’t hurt me.”

It crushed the idea of waiting for motivation and living by handouts to succeed.

All it takes to succeed in anything is some conviction and being willing to put in the reps consistently (even on days when you “don’t feel like”).

The key is to match the standard of your goals with the standard of your execution.

As my Coach friend, Michael Yeung stated:

“Before giving up and jumping to the next big thing..

✅ Address your level of fatigue,

✅ Reflect and evaluate,

✅ Seek guidance for improvement

✅ Up the level of implementation

✅ And put the reps in consistently

… Might not be the most comfortable thing to do.

But it’s definitely something your future self will thank you for.

6: How you manage your time

Our time management shows amongst other things how we value ourselves and the standard we set for ourselves.

The world is getting more connected and almost everything is competing with you time and attention.

To set high standards for yourself learn to manage your time based on your highest priorities.

The goal is not to be efficient in all you do but to be Effective. That’s where results are made.

In fact, you should be inefficient in engaging in low-level activities and aim to procrastinate and cancel a lot of things that have very low importance to you.

7: Let go of toxic traits and relationships

I’m the most proud when i let go of a negative or toxic relationships that isn’t serving me.

Think of someone you’re always arguing with or discussing stuff you wouldn’t say in public.

Think of a bad habit you want to let go.

8: Have difficult conversations

I can tell you how so many times I wished I had “that conversation” especially as an introvert.

Life is short and time waits for no one.

When you need to clarify something, stand up for something or change something – you need to engage in difficult conversations.

9: Who you surround yourself with

There are many people who are unhappy, living in the shadows, because of the fear of judgement by their friends and people around them so they can’t grow past their present level.

By expressing your desire to be your best self, you will find and attract other people who will not only match but RAISE your energy and standards in life!

The key is to surround yourself with the right people. 

10: Stop Comparing yourself with others

It’s ineffective and shallow-minded to be on the lookout for who you think you’re better than.

While people who have high standard for themselves are always looking at the “man in the mirror” and comparing themselves to only who they were a while ago.

11: Bonus point: Mentorship

We need guidance for improvement.

The books you read and people you’re learning from e.g. Coaches, Mentors all tell a lot on the standards you build for yourself.

CONCLUSION 

To achieve anything you want stop today tolerating your excuses, limiting beliefs and negative environment and start setting high standards for yourself.