Don't lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations. Expect the best of yourself, and then do what is necessary to make it a reality.
in the wake of the storm i was so happy to see everyone pulling together, like everyone else out there i'm sure. it was a refreshing change from the divisive politics of late to see people lending a hand and reaching across whatever divides they might have. im just so sorry it takes a tragedy to make us ignore those lines.
i've learned a lot of valuable lessons throughout my life, and while i still struggle (a lot) with looking at and for the bright side, i hope i've taken to heart the one about reaching out. it doesnt always work. and i dont ALWAYS do it. i can hold a grudge with the best of them. and i realize that makes me immature. and i realize that it doesnt hurt anyone but me. but i would say for the most part, i try. i try to do what's right. i try to look at things from more than one point of view. and i expect the same from others.
does that set me up for failure? sometimes yes. but i still think its up to us to set high expectations. i think we've become a society of the lowest common denominator and its upsetting. we expect bad behavior. we expect to not get along. and i think we need to start setting our goals higher. as individuals and as a society. no matter what your political affiliation may be, i think we can all agree that somewhere along the line, we broke the system. and it needs real reform. it means we all need to bite the bullet a bit. one group, one class, one party won't fix it. its going to take a collective effort. or the choice will be taken out of our hands.
to me, the beginning of the end was when we started giving out awards for participating. everyone gets a trophy. (you know i'm going to relate this to sports right?).....when did we start telling ourselves and our kids that life was fair? and that everyone is the same? everyone has the same POTENTIAL to be great. but definitely not in the same ways. i like to think i'm a fairly good writer. but im horrible at anything mechanical. we are not all the same. we dont have the same aptitudes. just like some people are good at math and science, other people are good athletes, or artists. we shouldnt be lowering the bar to even out the playing field. we should be raising it up so that everyone has to reach for it. you dont get a participation award for life. and you shouldnt get rewarded for just showing up. you have to contribute. excel, even.
i walked into the new gym opening up a few weeks ago (during my blogging blackout) and the first thing the girl at the counter said to me was "this is a judgement free zone". and i'm sure you will all be shocked to learn, i laughed and walked out. really? the GYM is a judgement free zone. sue me, but i thought the point of the gym was to make yourself BETTER. healthier at the very least. when did we decide that rather than hurt anyone's feelings, we would just ignore what is right in front of us? we are turning into a nation of overweight, unhealthy, lazy people. because somewhere along the line we lowered our expectations. it became okay to be just okay. god forbid we offend anyone. guess what? life isnt fair. and the lessons that we should be learning and teaching when we DON'T reach our goals are getting fewer and far between. not everyone is an all-star. not everyone gets in. but that doesn't mean you shouldnt TRY! and that doesnt mean you should set those expectations. its okay to fail. its NOT okay to not try. its the effort that makes us better.
i think what makes this election so disappointing to me is that everyone promises and expects a simple answer. believe me, if the answers were simple, the problems would already be fixed. but we don't want to hear that. we want it to be easy. we want it to be FAIR. we want to keep everything that we already have - oh and everyone else too. because we are entitled to it. its not our job to contribute to the solution. its our job to complain when we dont like how its being done. or not done, as the case usually goes.
its time to wake up. be honest. the problems we face wont be fixed by the "we all get a trophy" mentality. there are hard choices ahead. someone is going to come out on top, and someone is going to pay a bigger price. but we have to set our expectation HIGH. we have to expect our government AND our citizens to see the bigger picture. to TRY to do the right thing. just like there is no quick fix, no magic pill, to make you skinny, there is no quick fix to our problems. it will take hard work....on a regular basis. it will take giving up some of the things we most love. it will mean fewer indulgences. but the reward for our effort will be STRENGTH. and PRIDE. knowing you've done something that was HARD to do is one of the best feelings in the world. it may not seem like it at the time. it may suck the whole time. but when you reach your goal, you SHINE!
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