Should we hold ourselves up to the unrealistic standards of others?
The term standards is one with which everyone is familiar but when they are applied to us as individuals it brings in a different perspective. Each of us have our own standards with which we profess to live up to but what standards should we strive to achieve. We should not try to live up to the standards of others as often times they are unrealistic. The standards we apply to ourselves should not be so difficult to achieve but they need to be at a level that it takes some persistence on our part to live up to them.
A quote by Jeph Jacques is quoted as saying the following:
“You can either hold yourself up to the unrealistic standards of others, or ignore them and concentrate on being happy with yourself as you are."
Understanding the standards which others have generated for themselves should not be ignored as mentioned in the quote above. In a strange way the standards generated by others is an educational event from which we can learn what makes sense and what is totally off the wall to coin a phrase. Learning is a process which we go through each day and we should always welcome the opportunity to learn from others whether it is the standards they set for themselves or something else.
Standards can involve our living standards and sometimes standards are established or evaluated by country through some organization. Countries around the world have standards by which they live and one country should not be swayed by the standards of another. In some cases goals we set can be derived from standards put in place by a government.
The work we do as individuals involve requirements which must be met. If it involves products certain conditions must be met for it to meet design and functional requirements. Designs for a product or service are the result of standards imposed by the companies providing such products and services. Customers also impose requirements or expectations not only for the products but the service before and after the sale.
The question to be asked and answered is whether standards created should have some basic elements or characteristic and to that the answer is yes. Similar products are often produced by multiple sources and while they may be different to some extent they must meet the basic functionality expected by the customer purchasing them.
The world we live in is full of requirements/standards which must be met and we as individuals are involved in meeting those requirements. In effect they are standards which are imposed upon us as a result of the jobs we perform each day. It can be a service or product the quality of which must satisfy all requirements either created or expected by potential customers. As stated in the quote standards imposed by others may not necessarily satisfy organizational policies. Companies can learn through the mistakes of others who impose such tight restrictions that they create their own in such a way as to eliminate the problems experienced by others. It is important to create our own requirements as an individual or business owner and those requirements must be such that we are satisfied with what we have generated.
