For the last month, I challenged you to prioritize how you spend your time. Remember, how you define success should define how you prioritize your time. So, what did you prioritize last month? Reading more business books, working out, or networking with professionals? Whatever your priorities were for the month, I hope you knocked it out of the park! Now, it's time to add the second element to your formula for success, and that is standards.
Standards
The second decision you must make if you want to be successful is determining what standards you will live by. I prefer to set standards versus setting goals. Why? A lot of times goals turn into wishful thinking. In fact, the University of Scranton came out with a study where they determined that ninety-two percent of people who set New Year’s resolution goals did not keep them. That’s sort of a downer, isn’t it?! That’s why we need to shift the mindset away from goal setting and move toward setting standards in our lives that we will live by. These standards are non-negotiable. Outside of work – which I absolutely love doing (for real), I make sure my non-negotiables are: reading, writing, checking in with my managers, and funny enough, doing one load of laundry per day. It’s easier to keep up than catch up!
To guide us on setting up our non-negotiable standards, I’d like you to think about your environment, identity, and values. First, your environment is the places, events and people you surround yourself with. You must decide who you will and won’t be spending your time with. This is critical because you will become the sum of the people you spend the most time with. Meaning, you are who you hang out with. Who has the kind of success you seek? Are you hanging out with them?
You will also want to take some time to think about the places and events you go to. Where do you need to be (i.e. what environment) if you want to be challenged and push towards your meaning of success?
Second, your identity is who you are. Think about who you are right now and who you want to become. Are there areas in your life you’re in denial about or refusing to take accountability? If you were the dream version of yourself, who would you be? What do you need to do in order to become the person you were meant to be?
A few years ago, Dave Ramsey taught me about displacement. In his terms, displacement is “pouring in the good to remove the bad.” In other words, instead of focusing on getting rid of the areas of your life you’d like to change, focus on the new positive behaviors or habits that you’d like to add to your life. For example, if you have a shopping addiction in which you always go shopping after work or on the weekends, you would instead fill up those hours with a new activity such as joining a golf league, volunteering, or joining a book club. If you struggle with gossiping with a co-worker, you need to ask a positive teammate who will be a fabulous influence, to coffee. Start booking yourself with new opportunities that lead you toward success!
Finally, your values are what matter to you and how you display those values in your life. Simply put, your values are displayed by your actions. You may say that you value education, but when you’re asked to sign up for an amazing opportunity, you decide to pass because you’d rather use your lunch break to sit on Facebook. You may value reading books on salon marketing or personal growth, but when the rubber meets the road, you choose to turn on your favorite Netflix series.
Friends, you cannot change what you don’t acknowledge. Today’s topic is to encourage you to live by new standards where you are wise with your time—all in order to get you to the level of success you truly desire. I was convinced when I heard Brad Sugars say, “If you don’t know where you’ll be in five years, you’re already there.” Use this as an opportunity to create the life and legacy you’ve always desired!
Good luck on your journey towards success, and make sure to connect with me to share your struggles and triumphs!
