Do we always need to Raise The Bar to Get things done?

“The secret of success: Get up early. Working late. Strike oil.” - John D. Rockefeller In a sports setting, we frequently hear the term, “raise the bar.” To “raise the bar” means that we are striving for better, further and faster. This is a big goal for everyone, but do we invariably need to raise the bar to get things achieved? Let us suppose that you desire to become a champion high jumper for example and that I am an author of the bestselling book called “How to Be a Champion High Jumper.” You need me to become your coach and I concur. On our inaugural day of training, we meet on the drill area. I assure you totally motivated and pumped up to begin. As you get yourself psyched to start training, I go down the stripe at 7 feet high because that’s the summit that the world’s best high jumpers compete at. You see at the bar that’s way up there contemplating… I give you encouraging words. I motivate you by saying, “you can do it,” “think positive!” You don’t want to disappoint me so you give it a try. You take a few steps back, run as fast you can and jump as high as you can. You lose the bar by a mile, but I say, “that’s fine,” “you can manage it!” Then you grant it another try and another and another. I try and keep you motivated as you try. I shower you with affirmations, visualization and positive support, but you still do not get it. Will this method ever work? No, it will not. But even after saying this, how many of us continue to do this to ourselves each day? It is like when we, for example, say, “my goal is to make one million dollars in a year.” Let us say we only make half a million in that year. Do we feel bad about that? Do we feel that we have not succeeded? Or do we say, “Hey, half a million isn’t that bad!” It can sound simplistic, but the truth is many of us plant ourselves for failure because we define our internal bar of success too high. Even if we achieved something important, we feel that it is not just enough. We are not unaccompanied in this way of thinking and the good word is that this is entirely within our conscious control. What does this mean? It intends that when we read that it is not serious enough, it is you who are reading this to yourself, not others. This implies we just need to change our judgement about this, not others. A client of mine who was under my Afformations program was a highly respected individual in the network marketing industry. She made millions of dollars, but when she read a part in my book she cried. When I asked her what made her call, she stated that when she got to the part of Afformation, ‘Why am I enough?” She did not feel that she was doing or did enough, even with all the success she experienced. Here, you can say that she had put the measure for success for herself too high. Right away, this is why when I coach my clients, I suggest them to take down their bar for success. Let me give you some examples of what it means to raise the bar:

• “I need to close more sales.”
• “I need to finish writing my article.”
• “I need to make a million dollars by the end of the year.”
• “I need to lose 20 pounds.”
• “I’d better not make a mistake.”

These are things that are good to aim for, but what do you do if we are unable to meet them? Do you have a plan to achieve these goals of yours? Now if you do not have a plan, then all the more excuses to beat yourself up for it. I advise my clients to lower the bar for themselves and what they can do is:

• Listen to what your prospective clients have to say. Let them speak more and then you talk. You will be able to gain their trust and in turn can lead to more sales.
• If you are writing an article, begin with the first 100 words, then the next 100 then so on and so forth. Before you know it, you will be finished.
• Enroll in a course on how making money as a Thought Leader in your industry.
• Live healthy and exercise for 15 minutes a day, every day.
• Allow yourself to commit mistakes and learn from them.

If you like today's article, please comment and share if you want more content like this... Noah St. John is famous for inventing Afformations and helping busy entrepreneurs to accelerate income, boost self-confidence, and make success automatic. His sought-after advice has been called the "secret sauce" for creating breakthrough performance. Get Noah's new video training series How to Boost Income and Self-Confidence Using Power Habits ® FREE at www.PowerHabitsAcademy.com . Inventor of Afformations; founder of Power Habits®PowerHabitsAcademy.com