The Formula For A Good Life
Mindset Monday
Takeaway: Shane Parrish wrote that big ambitions, low expectations, and high standards are a powerful combination for living your best life. The following insights were pulled from his newsletter to share with you here.
Big ambitions, low expectations, and high standards are a powerful combination for living your best life.
Ambitions pull you forward when it's hard. They connect you to something larger. One of my most important ambitions is to be a great father and friend. Another is to leave the world a better place than I found it. You can't have a meaningful life without a connection to something larger than yourself.
Reality minus expectations = happiness. You will never be happy unless your expectations are exceeded. If you think the world owes you something, you're going to end up disappointed. The world doesn't owe you anything. You can't sit around waiting for the world to come and hand you what you think you deserve. If you want something to happen, you have to take action. Go positive and go first.
High standards - When it gets hard, do not lower your standards. I am not always at my best, but I always give my best. I hold myself to a high bar. I don't always meet it, but I won't lower the bar to feel better about myself.
Parrish is right, at least in that most people fail two of the three, if not all three, of these goals. If you’re struggling, my advice is to start in this order:
Set high standards for yourself. Whether you’re building a business or cleaning the bathroom, don’t settle for half-assed.
Work to eliminate expectations. This is a powerful lesson I’ve learned over the last year and it has dramatically improved my wellbeing. I am calmer, more relaxed, and counterintuitively it’s also led to more amazing adventures and unexpected experiences.
Find something to be passionate about. For anyone who feels lost, the thought of where to begin searching for passion can be overwhelming. Instead of placing the expectation on yourself to quickly discover your passion (see what I did there?), focus instead playful exploration. You might be surprised what you find.
~ Coach Alex
P.S. I’ve got a great free resource that could help you shift your mindset to better pursue these goals. If you’re interested in challenging some of the negativity happening at the control center, shoot me a response to this email and I’ll set you up with it.