We all have values – principles or qualities that we find worthy and desirable. Setting standards of behavior that align with our values helps us evaluate how well we are living out our values. Standards bring consistency and quality into our lives.
Values and Standards
“Standards are the set of rules that you choose to live by.” “A standard is a choice you make about how you will behave . . .” ~ Thomas Leonard
One of my values, after “integrity” and “family well-being”, is health and vitality. I hope good health is one of your values as well. Our values are guides to help keep us on track as we seek to embrace our Excelerated Life™! But we need something else – something to show us how well we are following our guides. We need standards.
Whereas values are broad and guiding principles providing a general direction for behavior, standards are specific and measurable. They provide clear criteria for evaluation. Standards ensure consistency and quality in the specific contexts of our lives.
Values provide a moral compass and help us prioritize goals and actions. Standards help to ensure consistency, efficiency, and effectiveness. They provide a clear benchmark against which actions and outcomes can be evaluated.
For example, for my value of health and vitality, here are standards I attempt to follow.
Exercise: Engage in at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily.
Nutrition: Eat a balanced diet that includes a variety of whole foods and limit processed foods.
Rest: Aim for 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night.
Regular Check-ups: Schedule and attend annual health check-ups and follow medical advice.
Let’s look more closely at ways we might implement our value of good health.
The Value of Health
“Good health should be a universal goal; we all want that and do our best to achieve and maintain it.” ~ Earl Nightingale
While I tend to agree with Earl Nightingale in many things, I’m not sure that being healthy is a goal for some (most?) of us. If we are asked directly, of course we would say we value our health, and we think that is true. But to paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson, what we do speaks so loudly, others can’t hear what we say. We may say and even believe that good health is a goal or value, if we are asked. But I’m not sure our actions always bear that out.
Being healthy is much more than “not being sick”. It is a feeling of vitality and zest that we can bring to all parts of life. And it starts by paying attention to the Excelerated Fundamentals™ of eating, moving, and sleeping.
Small Changes – Big Difference
“[Y]our only path to success is through a continuum of mundane, unsexy, unexciting, and sometimes difficult daily disciplines compounded over time.” ~ Darren Hardy
If you, like me, want to make improvements in your fundamentals, a good place to begin is here and a good time to begin is now. Or to quote Pema Chodron: “Right here is a good place to start.” We can begin to make small decisions and small choices, and take small actions to improve what we eat, how we move, and the quality of our sleep. The way to the Excelerated Life™, as we frequently discuss, is by developing tiny habits – small actions that we take consistently by making them automatic.
As Darren Hardy writes in The Compound Effect: “Small, Smart Choices + Consistency + Time = RADICAL DIFFERENCE.”
Do You Want To Improve? Measure!
“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret to your success is found in your daily routine.” ~ John C. Maxwell
An interesting finding from medical and social sciences is that the act of measurement leads to improvement; simply by measuring our activities in the fundamentals, we can begin to see advances. For example, studies have shown that simply wearing a pedometer had users increasing physical activity by 2,183 steps per day, compared with non-pedometer users.
“You can’t improve what you don’t measure.“ You’ve probably heard this before. We don’t want the tracking to become an end in itself, but tracking can help you achieve and maintain momentum and, as we saw above, the act of tracking can lead to some gains.
“The first step toward change is awareness,” Darren Hardy wrote. “If you want to get from where you are to where you want to be, you have to start by becoming aware of the choices that lead you away from your desired destination. Become very conscious of every choice you make today so you can begin to make smarter choices moving forward.” [Hardy]
To make smarter choices, you must first be aware of what you are currently choosing. Begin making small changes and then track your progress.
What small changes can you make? Let’s look at some examples.
Movement
Our bodies are designed for regular, daily movement that includes full ranges of relatively pain-free motion. Too often, we take this ability for granted until something happens and it’s lost. I don’t know who first said “Use it or lose it”, but that is certainly true. Unfortunately, we sometimes don’t come to believe that until it is too late.
Going back to my standard for exercise, I want to have at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily. And I want that to include a range of activities: walking or aerobic exercise, strength training, T’ai Chi Chih, and HIIT training.
In addition to these specific types of activity, I have a tiny habit inspired by BJ Fogg that I call “P & B”: “After I pee, I will do one balancing exercise.” After I do P & B, I also do one of the range of motion exercises I learned many years ago during a time of physical therapy.
We are apt to take movement for granted until it is gone. But it doesn’t have to be that way. What standards do you want to establish for your fundamental of movement?
You can find specific suggestions here.
Eating
Food is fuel. I’m sure you’ve heard that before, but let’s step back and think about it for a minute. How would your automobile perform if you filled it with the wrong fuel? Once I unknowingly put gas that had been contaminated with water in my car. I left the station but in less than a mile, my car quit running. I had to have the gas tank drained.
Now, if you and I eat unhealthy foods, we may not see the results as quickly as I did with my car, but we are not operating at our optimum. By following my nutrition standards and eating a balanced diet that includes a variety of whole foods while limiting processed foods, I can ensure that I am filling my body with wholesome fuel.
What standards will you establish for your fundamental of eating a healthy diet?
Look here for some specific suggestions.
Rest and Sleep
“So if you want to be able to see the details that will help your brain summon its full range of intellectual and emotional resources, first make sure you get seven to eight hours of sleep a night.” ~ Shawn Achor
“Remember, we don’t rest as a sign of weakness; we rest so that we can be at our strongest.” ~ Stephen Guise
What if there were a pill you could take that would enhance your physical and mental performance, could help ward off heart disease and other ailments, and make you less irritable and depressed? Would you take it?
While there isn’t such a pill as far as I know, you realize the same benefits from getting adequate sleep. Sleep isn’t merely necessary for health, it is the foundation upon which our other healthy practices stand. Without sufficient rest and sleep, it is harder to take care of the other fundamentals.
It is why I have a standard to aim for 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night. Taking into account the fact that to get eight hours of sleep you need to be in bed at least nine hours, I calculate my bedtime based on the time I want to get up in the morning. Most days, that is 5:30 AM so, most nights, I am in bed by eight, so I can be asleep by 8:30.
What standards will you follow to ensure you are getting enough sleep, the “foundational” fundamental?
Then go here to read specific suggestions.
Focus on the Fundamentals
“You will never be able to master every aspect of your life. To try to become the master of every detail of your life will only lead to frustration. Instead, why not go after the few among the many, the few that will make the most difference, the fundamental subjects that will have the greatest impact in determining the quality of your existence?” ~ Jim Rohn
You have your fundamentals and, I hope, you’ve established some standards to help you practice them. They are, in the words of Jim Rohn, “the few that will make the most difference”; it’s why we call them the fundamentals. As you begin to improve your practice, consider working on all the fundamentals together. Here’s what Tom Rath says about this in his book, Eat, Move, Sleep:
“Starting your day with a healthy breakfast increases your odds of being active in the hours that follow. This helps you eat well throughout your day. Consuming the right food and adding activity makes for a much better night’s sleep. This sound night of sleep will make it even easier to eat well and move more tomorrow.
In contrast, a lousy night of sleep immediately threatens the other two areas. That bad night of sleep makes you crave a less healthy breakfast and decreases your odds of being active. In the worst-case scenario, all three elements start to work against you, creating a downward spiral that makes each day progressively worse.” [Rath]
Current research indicates that you are more apt to stick with your new healthy practices when you tackle them together, rather than implementing them one at a time. “Eating, moving, and sleeping are even easier if you work on all three simultaneously. These three ingredients for a good day build on one another. When these elements are working together, they create an upward spiral and progressively better days.” [Rath]
Focus on your fundamentals and work at making improvements on all of them at the same time. Research says you’ll be more likely to see lasting improvements.
Raise Your Standards for Health and Vitality
“I’ve upped my standards. Now, up yours.” ~ Pat Paulsen
Setting standards of behavior that align with our values helps us evaluate how well we are living out our values. Standards bring consistency and quality into our lives.
One value that ought to be universal is the value of health – the feeling of vitality and zest that we can bring to all parts of life. The Excelerated Fundamentals™ give us a practice we can use to honor and improve our standards in that area.
To get started, remember that small changes can add up to a big difference. Begin making small changes and then track your progress.
As you consider your standards, your behaviors, and your habits, what small improvement could you make in eating? In moving? In sleeping? What is one thing you need to stop doing to be a tiny bit better? What is one thing you could start doing?
Focus on the Fundamentals for healthy improvements that last. Set the standards for good health and vitality that will help you be your best. For that’s how you embrace your Excelerated Life™!
Can you articulate your standards for achieving health and vitality?
How will you begin to do that?
Share your ideas by leaving a post below.
Excelerated Fundamentals™ — perfecting basic self-care practices — is one practice for creating your Excelerated Life™, a life of flourishing and well-being, and a life of meaning, purpose, and service.
Read more about the Excelerated Life™.
Resources:
Achor, Shawn. Before Happiness. New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2013.
Chodron, Pema. The Pocket Pema Chodron. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2008.
Guise, Stephen. The Magic of Momentum. Selective Entertainment, LLC. 2022.
Hardy, Darren. The Compound Effect. Boston, MA: Da Capo Press, 2010.
Nightingale, Earl. “Lead The Field. PDFDrive. Asaha Inc., . Web. Date July 17, 2020. PDF file.
https://www.pdfdrive.com/lead-the-field-e186040772.html
Rath, Tom. Eat Move Sleep: How Small Choices Lead to Big Changes. Arlington, VA: Missionday, 2013.
Rohn, Jim. The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle. Lake Dallas, TX: Jim Rohn International, 1991.
This blog post includes research information provided by ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by OpenAI. To learn more about ChatGPT and its capabilities, you can visit the OpenAI website.