“You don’t rise to your intentions, you fall to your standards.”
This quote has been written in bold on the whiteboard in my room for months now, and I genuinely think more people need to hear it.
Most high achievers usually have good intentions. They want a successful future, they’ve taken steps toward it, and maybe they’ve even seen some positive results. But the reality is, you can’t consistently rise to your intentions, especially over long periods of time.
Eventually, you fall to the systems and standards you have in place.
That’s why having stronger foundations to lie back on is crucial.
Your standards dictate what you tolerate from yourself. If your standards are low, for example, sleeping in when you said you’d wake up early, doomscrolling social media while claiming you’re on a dopamine detox (which I’ve definitely been guilty of) then your excuses will keep winning.
Our lives usually end up reflecting the standards we accept for ourselves.
I find that comforting in a way, because it means we have far more control over our outcomes than we think. By raising our standards, we raise the level we naturally fall back on.
The goal isn’t to aim for perfection all the time.The goal is to stop constantly lowering the bar for yourself.
D.K.