Self-improvement | Psychology
The Most Powerful Mindset Millionaires Use That Very Few People Know About
It makes a growth and abundance mindset seem weak
Sticking to what you should do is a pain in the balls.
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve set a goal with the small splurge of motivation I’ve mustered up, only to give up a few weeks later.
In some cases, a few days.
Most of the time, I never knew what to do, then when I finally told myself what to do, I ended up not doing it anyway.
Bruh, I thought. Is there something wrong with me?
That was until I noticed how the top dogs got stuff done — how they achieved their goals and stuck to their routines.
They all understood something that I didn’t.
You Are at War With Yourself
Humans don’t like change all that much.
Thanks to the status quo bias, we typically avoid actions that affect our current state of affairs.
The people who transcend mundane thinking use this to their advantage.
They realise that you’re perpetually at war with yourself — that your current sense of self is fighting against who you’re trying to become.
Your current reality is what is understood: it’s comfortable, predictable and familiar.
Change disrupts all of that. Action introduces uncertainty. Challenges produce discomfort. Life becomes unpredictable.
All of which we hate.
Setting goals sets you up for failure
Most people misunderstand goals.
When you set a goal or an outcome you wish to achieve, you’re telling the universe that you’re becoming a new person — a better person — while entering a hostile environment of uncertainty and resistance.
But your current identity will do everything to prevent that from happening.
It will use all your insecurities, fears and past trauma to stop you in your tracks. Like that time when you farted giving a presentation and everyone laughed at you because you’re a fool (I’m not projecting I swear).
It knows you best and will put up a fight to prevent change. It will kick, scream and fight for what it thinks is right.
Its arsenal of warfare manifests in many clever ways to put you off, such as self-doubt, perfectionism, procrastination and myriad more.
This is the reason why we relapse so often.
This is why we struggle to make progress.
One step forward, one step backwards
Most things happen in cycles.
This is as true for economies and menstruation as it is for self-improvement.
You are constantly oscillating between your best and your worst. When you are in the zone, operating at your best and things are going right, that's when your cycle is peaking.
But then it all comes tumbling down, and you inevitably relapse into your old standards and habits. This is when your cycle hits a low.
You are the average of your highs and lows.
These highs and lows are all created by our limits. Where we define our peak and trough is the result of a self-image problem.
The mindset you need to solve this involves raising your standards.
Raise the floor, not the ceiling
I used to always dream about the person I wanted to be.
I would create a bunch of goals I wanted to accomplish, visions I wanted to manifest, achievements to attain…
But it was a fruitless task.
Ignorant and naive, I thought I was doing a good thing. I was raising the limit of my potential. I was raising the ceiling of my expectations.
All I did, however, was increase how much I could fall. My lowest standard was remaining the same; it wasn’t moving with my potential. A fatal error.
Successful people notice this and flip the game: they raise the floor. The power of raising the floor is incredibly greater in effectiveness.
Let me explain why.
We never fall below our standards
Thought experiment time!
What are you more likely to do for the rest of your life:
- Brush your teeth twice a day, or;
- Meditate for 10 minutes, twice a day
It’s obvious, right?
You do not go the day without brushing your teeth. It is a hygiene standard; something that you refuse to go without because it would feel dirty.
It would be intolerable.
Whereas meditation is a goal. It is something you aim for. But, meh, it’s just a goal. You’ve experienced lots of goals that have drifted away like some mental flatulence. The idea of it doesn’t bother you.
But not brushing your teeth? Or going an entire week without showering? That is bothersome (and if it isn't then I’m genuinely concerned).
Therefore it is evident that we do not rise to the level of our goals.
Instead, we fall to the level of our standards. We become the lowest version of ourselves that we can tolerate.
Make your ceiling the new floor
That is the mindset to adopt: we fall to the level of our standards instead of rising to the occasion that our goals require.
You must raise your standards, not your goals — your standards can become your goals.
This way, the new version of yourself that is capable of achieving your goals is the worst version of yourself that you can tolerate. You are guaranteeing that you find it intolerable to be anything other than this new version of yourself.
You will be raising the lows of your oscillations. As a result, you’re increasing the average of your highs and lows, transcending your old standards.
Make your dream the most painful reality you can tolerate.
How to make your dreams a hygiene standard
Knowing this is great, but it needs application and conviction to make a difference.
Here are the actionable steps you can take right now to apply the mindset:
- Assess your goals and the reality you want. Make sure it’s detailed and vivid. Doing this will attach more emotion and clarity to the outcome, giving it more power.
- Observe what current standards you fall to and if any patterns cause you to plateau. After recognising the patterns, do your best to break them.
- Once you have your vision + goals do not put them on a pedestal; see the goals you set as something that comes true no matter what.
- Practice. Practice removing the patterns you recognise, framing your goals as standards that are being raised and seeing the floor of your improvement cycle become the new ceiling.
This will take time to implement, like all things worth chasing. It also doesn’t mean achieving your goals will be easy; there will still be pain to endure. However, it will save you a lot of time.
Making your goals a hygiene standard is an underrated practice that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Tony Robbins has been known to make his goals a standard, among many other hyper-successful people who continue to set exceptional standards.
Remember: we sustain our standards.
Make your goals your standard.
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