Little known fact but our current tagline (“We Take Training Seriously. We Do What Works.”) was not written by The Bard of The Barbell, The Scribe of The Squat, The Meathead Mozart, yours truly.
(No one has ever called me one of those things, by the way)
No, Kyle actually came up with that. Which we still use and I still love.
But even lesser known fact is that that was not the original line. No.
“Raise Your Standard” was the original line which Kyle also came up with.
Now, I’m not sure if it’s a matter of great minds thinking alike or if he was inspired by Tony Robbins, but Tony has famously claimed that “raise your standards” are the three words that will change your life.
And I have to agree.
Maintaining a low or mediocre or even current standard all but guarantees a low, mediocre or same outcome that you are currently experiencing.
Want better relationships? Improve the things that you bring to the table (communication, honoring promises, dedicating time) and expect the same from others.
Want to improve your business? Raise your current level of engagement, thought, dedication and planning. Then support your co-workers in being able to do the same.
You may notice all of these recommendations start with you.
You cannot expect more out of others while you sit in the corner, fingers covered in Cheeto dust while you doom scroll Tik Tok for 7 hours per day.
You have to be willing to get in the ring yourself before others take you seriously.
I will use myself as an example.
Almost exactly a year ago, I took a look in the mirror and didn’t love what I was seeing.
Age, stress, lack of training focus were all getting the better of me. But rather than just accept this as a “regular sign of aging” or “just one of those things you can’t do anything about as a small business owner, Dad, husband, etc.” I decided to raise the standard for myself.
I went to the doctor, did some tests and found out my thyroid was about as sluggish as an old dog on a 90 degree day on a 2 hour walk. My cortisol levels were through the roof. My red blood cell count was so low that my blood was essentially pink.
So for the past year I’ve taken steps, like absolutely lock in my nutrition, to correct those things and it’s really worked.
I wanted to get involved with our gym community and do Hyrox again this year. And while I’ve enjoyed it I’ve always lamented that “I’m not a runner” so there is no way for me to do well. But this year I actually bought new running shoes (instead of using the same holey ones I’ve had for 10 years), followed a program, increased my mileage and, voila, my Hyrox time improved by 14 minutes over last year and I felt great doing it.
When my wife asks or needs me to do something, I try to be more responsive and complain less. When my son isn’t focused I’ve made an effort to be more patient and less frustrated.
When certain opportunities have been presented to me - for example, I am speaking at a big conference next week - I’ve thrown myself into the challenge rather than falling back into my more comfortable routines.
It’s not that I never get it wrong or mess up. Of course I do. But that doesn’t stop me from spending the moments, days and weeks after those slips, still trying to show up as the person I want to be and raise the standard for myself.
Once you do this, and do it for long enough, people will see it. And they will, either unconsciously or with some directive, raise their standard as well.
Turns out that this is actually a great gift you can give people. Because, sure, people will naturally default into whatever is easy and complain about what isn’t when they are surrounded by others who do the same. But, no one actually wants that for themselves.
And here’s an easy way to prove it: is this what you want for yourself?
Of course not. But keeping your standards low is an easy default. It requires less effort. It requires less tangible risk.
But the long term effects are devastating. Because if you keep your standards low you will, without question, wake up years down the road wondering why you are stuck with a broken body, in a shitty relationship and with the job you never really wanted.
This is a big and overwhelming ask, so I’m going to start with something relevant and pragmatic and, quite honestly, in my lane that can help get the ball rolling.
During your next workout, raise the standard for yourself. Focus on the technique that will help you get the most out of an exercise rather than rushing through it to get out of discomfort. Start your next set when the rest clock is over rather than taking that moment to check your phone or get water or whatever other distraction tactics you employ. Put in the extra effort your coach is asking for rather than having a fear of temporarily being out of breath.
Because that is the great thing about the gym. It is a controlled lab where you not only get to get in great shape, you get to do experiments on yourself that can then permeate the rest of your life.
Whether we like it or not, our standards become our future.
Every workout we rush through. Every difficult conversation we avoid. Every opportunity we talk ourselves out of. Every promise we make and fail to keep.
That's the direction we're headed.
So start small. During your next workout, raise the standard.
Then do it again tomorrow.
Listen, I’m going to keep raising my standard. And, in order to do that and maintain our relationship, I need to bring you along for the ride.
We’re going to mess up. We’re going to get it wrong more times than not. But if we keep pushing together we are going to end up in a better place.
I believe that is the best thing I can do for you.
And for me.