About raising standards and lowering bars

“Everything I do in my life (now) is weighted against (this): ‘Is it gonna be as enjoyable to me as doing my daughters’ bath time, where I get to spend good quality time with them’? ” Russel Brand (1)

Standards,

bars,

and benchmarks.

This is what you and I use,

every day,

to compare things,

people,

and events with one another.

This is also what we’re told to raise,

on a constant basis.

So we can show our boss,

or else,

what we’re capable of,

or stand for.

No matter our age,

or the area of our life.

On top,

we’re told:

“Everyone should have standards in life.

You should too.

Things you want to use,

when you’ve got to make a decision about anything.”

Fact is,

standards are easy to set,

lower,

or raise.

At least,

when,

for instance,

we come across a habit we think can make us better at our job.

More than the other habit we’ve had for a while.

The same goes with bars.

Being easy to leave at the level they’re at.

That is,

when the “pros” of an alternative plan don’t outweigh that of the initial one we had.

Like,

“going out with a group of friends”

instead than “giving the bath to our daughters”,

for instance.

All,

until we’re put in a situation where this happens:

Having to decide if,

whether or not,

we’re willing to lower our bar,

one more time,

in an area of our life we’ve struggled with before.

“Damn. Starting next week, they want me to work the evening shift cause they say there’s not enough work for me during the day. But I know they’ve hired someone younger, to replace me. (…) I wonder what I should do.”

It’s a hard one to answer.

For two reasons,

among others.

The first one:

Whatever we decide,

we know the name-of-the-place-we-work won’t be the only one to be influenced.

Our morale will be.

How we make ends-meet might be too.

And so on.

The second reason:

“Pickles” like these are tests of character.

For the question they trigger:

How low can someone ask you to bring your bar for you to say “That’s enough”,

and stop making compromises on what you think you’re worth or believe in?

– – References – – – –

(1) Russel Brand _ On How He Nearly Ruined His Career (OnPurpose, with Jay Shetty (2019) ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lVb9GMYPS8 )