Expectations Vs Standards

Do you know the difference between an expectation and a standard?

Tony Robbins said

“If you want to change your life you have to raise your standards.”

He also said,

“Trade your expectations for appreciation and the world changes instantly.”

I heard something from

Coach J Brad

, a friend & fellow freedom crusader the other day that cleared it all up for me.

He said something like “Expect the best from yourself, appreciate everything else.”

Maybe standards are expectations we have of ourselves.

We can control the activities we engage on in on a daily basis.

Our expectations (or standards) here can be controlled by us 100% of the time.

And maybe, there’s a good chance that a big portion of our happiness, sense of fulfillment & confidence comes from what we expect of ourselves on a daily basis – and whether or not we fulfill or meet those expectations.

If I say ‘I’m going to blog daily’ or ‘prospect daily’ or ‘ ________’ and I do it, success!

That was an expectation (or standard) that was totally in my control.

If I place my happiness in the expectation that thousands of people will read and love my blog – I’ve begun to place my expectations to what falls into the realm of other people’s choices.

If I start to shift my expectations to circumstances or other people – that’s where I run the risk of losing control (and perhaps facing disappointment) because – there is far less control to be found in other people and circumstances than there is to be found in my own daily disciplines.

So maybe, the idea is to raise & meet the standards of what we expect of ourselves and appreciate everything and everyone else, like Coach J Brad said.

And in that light, both of Tony Robbins quotes make a bit more sense.

What do you think?