Elevate Your Standards…. 

and Transform Your Life!

Something I’ve learned as an entrepreneur is that in order to be successful, you have to raise your standards. You can’t keep doing things the way you’ve always done them and expect different results–which is the definition of insanity. If you don’t elevate your standards, you’ll never produce the results you desire.

Dr. Benjamin Hardy explains that the easiest way to ensure you achieve your goals is by improving your standard. You raise your standards by committing to your imagination. The unconscious will only allow you to have what you believe you deserve. What you believe you deserve, at the emotional level, is your standard that you hold for yourself. Once you start to raise your standards to be at the level of your goals, then most of what you’re doing is moving you toward your goals–not a distraction from your goals.

An unknown artist, Michelangelo Buonarroti, was 26 years old when he created one of the most famous pieces of art, The Sculpture of David. Michelangelo communicated something of a higher purpose from a leftover piece of flawed marble. His vision expressed a young man’s daring strength. He had a bigger-than-life goal working on a leftover piece of flawed marble when he created that 17-foot sculpture. He worked tirelessly long days into nights, leaving no detail untouched. 

As a young artist, he persisted on his vision. Albert Einstein says imagination is more important than knowledge. The unconscious will only allow you to have what you believe you deserve. Build your emotional intelligence and trigger your imagination for your business and ask yourself,

• What you’re most committed to?
• What do you believe you deserve?
• Who I am being now and in the future?

Increasing your standards can transform your life for the better in these five ways:

1. It Clarifies Your Priorities

When you raise your standards, you also raise your level of self-awareness. Suddenly, you become more aware of your thoughts, feelings, and actions and how they impact your life. This heightened awareness allows you to see clearly what’s important to you and what isn’t. From there, you can start making choices that align with your values instead of just going through the motions day after day. One of the best ways to bring your vision to life is by elevating your standards. When you set your sights high and commit to only pursuing the things that align with your values, you open yourself up to limitless possibilities. Not only that, but you also start attracting better opportunities into your life.

2. It Helps You Let Go of What Isn’t Serving You

As you become more aware of your thoughts and actions, you’ll also start to see which ones aren’t serving you anymore. Entrepreneurs need to transform themselves if they want real success. Instead, we worry we don’t know what we’re doing.  And this worry transfers to other areas of our lives. Maybe there are certain people in your life who bring out the worst in you or maybe there are habits that no longer align with who you want to be. Whatever it is, letting go of anything that isn’t serving you will create space for new opportunities that are a better fit. And every time you make a big jump, you’ve been prepared emotionally so you are aligned with your vision. Furthermore, the speed at which you let go of your comfort zone and distractions, the faster you will move towards success. Change your standards to match what you’re most committed to when you clarify goals and aspirations in a continuous process. It’s not an overnight process. The secret is letting go of those lesser goals. Letting go of those lesser goals allows you to raise your standards. By raising your standards to match your goals, you’re committing to your bigger, massive goals. Every time you eliminate the things that conflict with your goal, you will see the effect of what you see attracting to you. 

3. It Allows You to Pursue Your Dreams

When you have a clear vision for your life, it’s easier to identify the steps you need to take to make it happen. As a result, raising your standards gives you the courage to pursue your dreams instead of settling for a life that’s anything less than extraordinary. Even if it means taking risks or stepping out of your comfort zone, remember that nothing worth having comes easy. We all have an idea of what we want our lives to look like. For some of us, that vision is clear and we know exactly what steps we need to take to make it a reality. For others, the path ahead is a little less certain. But one thing is for sure: if you don’t have a vision for your life, you’ll never achieve the results you desire.

4. It Attracts Better Opportunities Into Your Life

One of the best things about raising your standards is that it attracts better opportunities into your life. When you’re clear about what you want and refuse to settle for anything less, doors start opening up that lead you closer to your goals. All of a sudden, things just seem to fall into place and everything feels effortless. And isn’t that how life is supposed to be? It’s not about doing more, it’s about what you’re doing and how it has an effect on your vision. If you don’t believe you deserve to live healthy, happy, and have abundance, then you will always spend your time on distractions. If you spend your time scrolling through social media, then that is what you feel you deserve and it’s a reflection that you’re not clear on your goals.

5. It Increases Your Level of Happiness and Fulfillment

At the end of the day, raising your standards is all about living a life that’s authentic to who YOU are. When you’re true to yourself and only pursue the things that matter most to YOU, it’s impossible not to feel happy and fulfilled with where you’re at in life. When you set your sights high and commit to only pursuing the things that align with your values, you open yourself up to limitless possibilities. Not only that, but you also start attracting better opportunities and relationships into your life.

Statue of David photo credit Emma Carmichael

Elevate your standards week by week. It’s not about perfection, it’s just about progress. Elevating your standards to match your goals and eliminate conflict requires conflict. A person’s progress is often determined by the amount of awkward conversations they’re willing to have. Elevating your standards separates the successful from the average. Emotional intelligence requires deep work and as you do it, it takes time. It’s not like Michelangelo didn’t work relentlessly for years.

And the best form of practice is when you’re working on high-value projects. As you evolve in the more difficult tasks, it is the most deliberate way to transform yourself. It forces you to be more honest with yourself and let go of those inner conflicts. As in the case when my daughter went to Italy for her last semester of college. It was her bigger-than-life goal.

If you’re wondering if I joined my daughter in Italy, I also lived out my bigger-than-life goal. Check out my article, A Mom Travels Italy.

Lisa Carmichael ~ Owner & Creator of EPIK Mastermind
lisarcarmichael.com