How do you get better at what you do?

You will always fall to the minimum standards you set.

Standards, not goals, get you what you want. Your goals set the direction. But your standard is the process that gets you there.

Say your goal is to get lean. A minimum of 2k steps a day gets you started, but 2k is not enough to reach your goal. Depending on how lean you want to get, the real standard is 5 or 10 times that.

Like every goal, every standard is personal.

You’re juggling different responsibilities than your neighbor, so you don’t copy their process. You set the one that fits your goal and what you enjoy.

• If my goal is a lean physique and I enjoy swimming, my standard is regular swimming.
• If my goal is to become an author and I enjoy fiction, my standard is regular storytelling.
• If my goal is to become an engaged parent and I enjoy music, my standard is creating music with my kids.

Consistency matters more than how much you cram into a day. That’s why your standards must be personalized so you can sustain them over the long run.

Once you know what you want, the only thing worth optimizing is your process.

So pick a big goal and look at the standard you’ve set.

Does your minimum standard match your goal?