Standards Exist for a Reason

The Texas Relays.

For those of you who have never been around the world of track and field in Texas, the Texas Relays is the showcase event of the track and field season.

Everyone who is anyone in the sport is attempting to qualify for the opportunity to compete in this event.

I was not made aware of this until I was a junior in High School and I actually started to piece together the art of throwing the discus.

This would be the first of 3 times in my life that I would qualify for the relays.

You see, standards exist for a reason.

There is a whole group of people who have been awarded participation trophies simply because they competed in a sport.

Unfortunately, this new normal has taken away from the glory of competition that requires grit, commitment, determination and courage to pursue what was once believed to be unattainable.

When I was a freshman, I had no business being in a varsity sport competing against elite level athletes.

However, after 2.5 years of hard work and growth, I had earned the opportunity to compete at the highest level in the state of Texas.

And yet, even then, I was not the best.

You see, when you have a standard, it is designed to weed out those who do not belong.

Oftentimes, in the world of sports, as many of you know, you can have a breakout season.

This is when everything clicks and you start to understand the sport you are playing.

But even then, you still have moments of falling apart which is where I ended up.

I had started to gain the understanding of the body mechanics however my consistency was not solidified enough, especially when being put in front of spectators in a collegiate venue.

Qualifying for the Texas Relays was one thing.

Competing and winning the Texas Relays was a whole different level.

Remember: standards exist for a reason.

The goal was to take the best in the state and even the country and to pool them into a competitive environment to see who would come out victorious.

A scenario I was not ready for.

A standard I failed.

You see, I had set my goal to be qualifying for the relays.

I did not set my goal to win the relays.

Two very different standards.

Said another way: if you don’t miss the standard every now and then, your standards are too low.

That would continue to be the narrative for my throwing career.

My standards were too low.

I was not setting them high enough.

A lesson that took me another 10 years after throwing to realize that I was not committed to the work it would actually take to become a professional thrower.

Now, how does this apply to you?

Well, being in the sphere of health, I encourage my patients every single day to tell me how they are working towards their goals related to their health.

For 75% of them, their standards are too low and I am having to pull them up the ladder.

For the other 25% they know exactly where they are going and what steps they are taking to get there.

Remember: standards exist for a reason.

What is the difference between the two groups?

The 75% are attempting to qualify, the 25% want to win the entire thing.

Too often, you are setting a low standard for yourself because you want to check the box.

You want to “try it out and say it didn’t work for me”

You are falling into the trap of the normal narrative that “you just have to live with it.”

The other 25% are setting their standards high enough that sometimes they miss but that doesn’t deter them from the goal.

In the track and field analogy, If I was training and committed to winning The Texas Relays, I guarantee you every single aspect of my life would look different.

My nutrition, my training, my sleep, my practice, my focus.

Everything would be aligned towards the mission.

Would that guarantee me a spot on the podium?

No

But I am 100% sure that I would have had a better opportunity of achieving that goal than simply qualifying.

So, for the 75% of you that aren’t where you want to be, I challenge you to ask yourself what standards you are setting for yourself.

Are you setting them high enough or are you setting them so low that they are just another box checked.

I guarantee you that if you answer this question honestly, the reason your health isn’t where you want it is because your standards are too low.