High Standards: Blessing & A Curse?
Are you driven by achievements? Are you constantly setting new goals after hitting old ones? And do you often feel frustrated if your life is (even temporarily) not moving any further? Welcome to the club of people that have high standards for themselves.
And having high standards is great. It makes you able to get stuff done in a fast manner. Hit deadlines. And achieve more.
But there’s a dark side to being wired this way. And very few people talk about that.
In this article I want to show you why having high standards – as all the self development gurus preach – are both a blessing and a curse. Are you ready? Let’s jump right into it
The Downsides Of Having High Standards
The downsides of having high standards are what few people actually talk about. Yet if you’re in the high standards club, these things are a daily staple for you:
I’m talking about frustration. Alienation of people around you and people close to you. If you have high standards for yourself, your goal driven. But you are unlikely to enjoy the process of getting to that goal.
So what you’ll find out is that you’ll be miserable 99% of aiming towards the goal. And once the goal is achieved eventually, the positive feelings are fading very fast.
Because you’re replacing them with dissatisfaction again. Striving towards a new goal.
More often than not, having high standards for yourself also leads to black & white thinking:
All Or Nothing/ Black & White Thinking
➤ Whenever you excel you feel good. Whenever you perform badly or just average, you feel disappointed.
The irony is that, for most high achievers, today’s average was last year’s peak performance.
So continuing to beat yourself up for not excelling 365/24/7 is the definition of insanity.
I just recently beat myself up for not finishing a online course in 2 months which is meant to take a year to complete.
But I caught myself in the moment.
And I reminded of myself of the big picture.
And reminding yourself of the big picture is 1 of 3 strategies that you need to implement as a person that has high standards:
1. Big Picture
We absolutely must remind ourselves of the big picture whenever we’re tied up in temporary struggles towards our goals.
Whenever we’re encountering setbacks or defeats. We must never lose sight of the total journey and our current progression.
Which means, we must always be grateful.
2. Gratitude
Gratitude is huge. Yet the more accomplished an individual is, the less they actually feel grateful for their circumstances.
There’s literally a 1:1 correlation. Why? Because the mindset that got you to that position of accomplishment is based on divine discontent and dopamine.
So remind yourself at least daily how far you’ve come. Being proud of your accomplishments is not something that will slow you down or ‘make you soft’.
If done properly, gratitude is adding fuel to the fire.
3. Quantify, quantify & quantify
Quantifying your progress is absolutely essential if you have high standards. Not measuring anything, defining key milestones, goals and rewards as a person with an achievement mindset is a fool’s game.
Why? Because it will make the only judge of your performance your own brain. Not data.
This is a recipe for disaster because again, as an achievement oriented person, your brain is wired to never feel properly satisfied.
So if you:
- Have high standards for yourself
- Are a fellow vegan – and:
- Struggle to get a hang of your health & fitness. Meaning you want to lose fat, build lean muscle and get in the best shape of your life.
But currently you feel like your high standards are both a blessing and a curse. Because you make good progression in your health & fitness and then tear everything down with your all or nothing mindset.
You should definitely book a free call with me by clicking here. I’ve been there and know how to make you excel in that area of your life in a sane and sustainable manner.
So book a call by clicking here and talk to you soon!