12/29/2025
Every January, people say “New year, new me,” and for about a week the motivation is high. Gym memberships spike, goals get written down, routines get talked about. But motivation fades. And when it does, most people fall right back to where they started.
Why?
Because we don’t rise to our goals — we fall to the level of the standards we set.
Goal setting matters. And big goals matter even more. Not because you’ll always hit them exactly, but because the effort required to chase a big goal is far greater than the effort required to chase a small, comfortable one. Even if you miss the mark, you’ll land far beyond where you would’ve ended up playing it safe.
But here’s the real shift:
Raising your standard means turning self-improvement into a non-negotiable.
Think about brushing your teeth. You don’t debate it. You don’t wait to feel motivated. You do it because the consequences of not doing it are unacceptable — bad breath, unhealthy teeth, long-term damage. So it’s built into your life. Automatic. Non-negotiable.
Better yourself the same way.
Reading. Training. Eating better. Growing mentally, physically, spiritually. These aren’t things you try to fit in when it’s convenient — they’re things you build your schedule around because you know what happens when you don’t. Staying stagnant. Feeling unfulfilled. Knowing you could’ve done more.
When you elevate something into the category of non-negotiable, it becomes second nature. It becomes part of who you are. And yes — it’s hard. It’s uncomfortable. It requires sacrifice. The reward rarely feels obvious in the moment.
But when you look back?
You realize everything changed the moment you raised the standard.
You don’t need a new calendar date.
You need a higher expectation of yourself.
🦅 🇺🇸 🤝🏽
