How To Stop Selling You and Your Life Short

I bet your standards are set way too low

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Question for you.

When did you set your standards for your life and yourself?

When I say standards, it’s the must-haves in your life right now.

The way you are.

Your standard of living and health and relationships and way of being.

When did you set them and based on what?

Second question: are you satisfied with your standards?

You may realize (like most of us) that you set your standards (aka, must-haves) years ago when your life was a lot different.

And/or you based them on old or false beliefs about yourself that came from your parents and/or the life they built.

All of that is understandable and, in fact, very common.

But that doesn’t mean those standards are right for you and right for you right now.

Case in point…one man’s story

“I had a goal to make $120,000 a year. I thought that would be great.

“But then someone straightened me out. They said I was selling myself short.

“They told me I needed to raise my standards to a level worthy of me.

“That I must make it a “must” to meet those standards.

“I did, and if someone hadn’t kicked me in the butt, I’d be nowhere near as successful as I am now.

“I set a new standard of $500,000 a year. I am not quite there yet, but I am a helluva a lot farther than I would have been.

“And since making a half-million a year is a must, I will achieve it. Probably next year. And the way I’m doing it means I am getting a lot more out of life and myself and I am making a positive impact while doing it.”

These quotes came from a colleague of mine.

This happened when he was looking to change professions to make more money and get more out of himself and life.

The $120k was an expectation that came from his upbringing. That number is about $20k above what his working parents totaled every year at their peak.

He had a BELIEF (note the caps) that his parent’s earning power was the standard.

Based on that BELIEF he set a low goal and INTENTION to achieve a lower must-have standard than he wanted or was worthy of.

For no good or true reason.

He (and you!) can do a lot better by setting a higher standard and intention with the belief that he must do it and achieve it.

It’s all about your BELIEFS and INTENTIONS and STANDARDS

He had a self-limiting belief based on what he had observed growing up.

These foundational beliefs are in all of us.

The way our parents were, the things they said to us, the way they treated us, our life situation, and things that happened when we were young and were absorbed into the core of our being.

They absorb them as empirical truth.

They become the foundational beliefs about ourselves, life, and the world around us.

Thing is, they all too often aren’t true or are no longer true.

They become the major blockage preventing us from being our best and having the best.

I imagine the vast majority of humans that ever walked this earth died with their self-limiting beliefs still running their lives.

They died with a life that fell far short of what it could have been.

All because of old or wrong self-limiting beliefs driving their lives.

There is a formula for this.

BELIEFS drive EMOTIONS.

EMOTIONS drive DECISIONS.

DECISIONS drive ACTIONS.

ACTIONS lead you to exactly the life you have today.

Ugh. No wonder yours, mine, and our life is the way it is!

Because what if that belief is untrue for you?

If you realize it is, then you can use this formula to turn things around.

Identifying those old or false beliefs and then creating new and true ones will lead you to a New Way Forward in your life.

For instance, let’s say you believe that you’ll never have enough money.

Ask yourself, “Where did that belief come from? When and why did I first feel that way?”

Wherever, whenever, and from whomever that came from, chances are it was about them and/or their circumstances that were not of your doing.

It was their belief that’s not necessarily true for you (just ask all those millionaires and highly successful people who came from humble beginnings).

Identifying this is 80% of the battle

Once you identify and realize this, you have taken a huge step in a whole new direction.

By ridding yourself of the old or untrue beliefs, you can move to a new way forward in your life in total or a major part of it.

The return on investment for this effort is gargantuan.

Now, set your higher standards

Changing my old beliefs has changed me, the trajectory of my life, and my potential.

Rebooting my beliefs opened me up to discover a path in life that is ideal for me, and I am succeeding at it.

I was empowered to determine a high level of standards in just about all parts of my life.

I wanted and needed these things. Therefore, they became musts.

Not “should haves” or “want to haves.”

These are must-haves, and when they’re at that level, you will go after them, and odds are you will achieve them.

By doing so, you have raised your standards, and we always live up to our standards.

This begs the question, are your current must-have standards high enough?

If your must-have standards aren’t high enough, then contemplate, cogitate and create new and higher standards that you want, need and deserve.

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