Download - Personal standards
PRESENTEDBY
SCOTT ODIGIE
PERSONAL STANDARDS
WHAT ARE PERSONAL STANDARDS?
They are the set of behaviours or beliefs that we have decided to
live by.
People who set high standards tend to feel very good about themselves. They tend to feel good about others too. They
tend to be very attractive to high quality people.
Standard is not about having expectations; it is about you and
not them. Having standards is not having an endless list of
requirements for your spouse, friends, colleagues,
subordinates, boss, children etc, but you!
DO WE ALL HAVE PERSONAL STANDARDS?
We all have a “behind-the-scenes” set of rules governing our conduct and outlook. They
are reflected in the quality of our relationships, our work and the
way we communicate.
We reveal our standards to people all the time. If you
haven’t actively created your standards-then where have they
come from?
SOURCES OF IMPOSED PEROSNAL STANDARDS: standards are imposed on us from the outside from
the day we are.
Our parents
Education
The Media
Society
Culture
WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM?
Having outside generated standard is a problem because it can be a cause of discontent in
our lives
If you are measuring yourself up to something that you have not decide to be true for you, then
that makes authentic happiness a difficult thing to achieve.
RECOGNIZING THE PERSONAL STANDARDS YOU LIVE BY
Your personal standards are reflected in how you treat
yourself, and also in how you treat other people. They are also reflected in how you expect to be treated by other people.
Your personal standards are also reflected in the promises you
keep, in the way you dress and manage your life, health,
finances and environment.
They are also reflected in the quality of your work values and
communication. In fact, everything you do and say gives
others an indication of the personal standards you live by.
You are therefore always sending messages about how you feel
about yourself, about others and about your life, whether you are consciously aware of it or not.
SIGNIFICANCE OF PERSONAL STANDARDS
1. They make you entirely self-validating: it takes the
focus away from outside markers of success, putting them entirely in the province of the personal.
2. Puts you in control: not setting standards would just make you passive bystander.
Having clear standards puts you at the steering wheel of your life.
3. They create something measurable to assess your goals and progress against:
we have all heard that happiness is in the attainment of goals.
4. They are a better way to define yourself: defining yourself by
reference to the standards you create is far more logical than defining
yourself by your gender, background or sexuality.
5. They enable you to make better decisions: knowing what’s important to your happiness and
fulfilment takes procrastination out of the equation.
6. They will free you up from others’ misconception
of you: we will always be misunderstood at times.
HOW TO RAISE YOUR STANDARDS?
1. Clarify your expectations: your first step is to clarify what it is
exactly you want to achieve. It’s after all impossible to set standards
if you don’t know what it is you want.
What do I want to
achieve?
Whom do I seek to
become?
What traits would I need to cultivate
to achieve this goal?
What new behaviours would I need to adopt?
How would I ideally like to live my life having achieved
this goal?
2. Analyze your current reality: your current
reality is the life you are living at this very moment.
Consider what kind of life this really is and the types of
behaviours that define your actions and results. Ask
yourself:
What standards do I currently
live by?
What standards do I have for
myself in various situations?
What behaviours and actions do I partake in within these situations?
What standards do I have for the roles I play in my
life
3. Find inspiring mentors: your next step is to find appropriate
mentors. These will be people who are currently living to the highest of
standards in specific life areas…
… that you are wanting to focus on. The purpose here is to use them as inspiration to help you
raise your own personal standards.
4. Establish your own standards: it is now time to set some clear standards and expectations for each area of
your life.
In other words, you must identify a set of standards you
will follow. These standards effectively become the rules
you live by.
5. Discipline: the final step of this process is to discipline yourself to help instil the
motivation you need to follow through with these rituals, and
…subsequently live your life in accordance with your higher personal
standards.
Raising your personal standards is never an easy process. You will need to break old patterns of
behaviour and develop new rituals and habits that will provide…
…you with the impetus you need to make positive changes to your
life. As such, the following guidelines and suggestions
might be of some value.
Become self-
aware
Develop appropriate rituals
Set performance standards
Learn from
mistakes.
Avoid comparis
on
Don’t get complac
ent
Don’t lower your standards
Take Risks
CONCLUSION
Raising your personal standards would make
you more fulfilled in life. Thank you for listening.