What is your standard?

What are you ok with, and where will you be content to be?

My family teases me without hesitation when I am getting ready for a family dinner or hosting an event.  They know … They know my standard.  The plate of food for holiday dinners must have multiple colours on it versus too many of the same colour.  (I mean, you can’t possibly two green veggies on the same plate!) The napkins need to match the table or occasion.  We need to use the wine glasses instead of water glasses.

A dear friend picks a theme for her Christmas morning each year and all the decorations need to go along with the theme.

Wrapping gifts throughout the year needs to be done well, and right.

What is it that you simply cannot go without?

How about in your life?  

What are you ok with, and what is the line that you have determined as the measure of your life and how you want to show up?

Do you have one?

I am sure you have noticed how one person can be ok with coasting through life but another person expects more, shows up to more, and dreams more?

I was asked the question of what my standard was awhile ago,  and it completely shifted how I lean into my life.

You see, we get so used to life as is, we think that is how it should be and we coast.

I mean, isn’t that how it’s always been?

You’ve heard the statements (and most likely said them yourself) …

It’s just the way I am.

It’s always been that way.

I get it from my Mom (or Dad)..

It’s how I’ve always done it.

That’s how life goes.

It just is.

How many of those sound familiar?

They have become our standards.

Your standard is what you have accepted as normal, or you have measured as acceptable.

The thing is … you can change it.

You can change your standard.  Raise your bar with yourself, or with others.

You can change what you are content with and decide to go for more.

You can change who you are happy to hang out with and choose to hang out with friends that challenge you, help you grow, and encourage you to be your best you.

You can change what response you are willing to give, and set a higher standard for how you want to respond to things in your life.

You can change what habits you are ok with, and raise the bar on your own habits.

You can wake up earlier than you are used to and start your day with time to set your day up for your best, even if your not a morning person.

You can increase your exercise level and set your bar higher, even if you’re “not that girl”.

You can change what income level you are ok with.

You can change what your standard of people pleasing is ok with you.

What is your standard and where do you want to move your standard to?

When I would train for a marathon I would set the goal of each time I trained  to run one house further.  One sidewalk square longer.  One kilometre further before I could stop.

I changed my standard each time to “one more” and kept raising my own bar.

I was asked the question months ago and have been asking myself the question every since.

Am I ok with where I am at?

Am I ok with what I am accepting as my standard right now?

Honestly, no I am not.

Who do you want to be and where do you want to be?

Set your standard and then step up to it.

Hint:  Your standard is probably lower than your dreaming big would be.

If you would love to up your standards, let’s chat and get you started.  Your standard won’t move until you move it.