The First Thing That Must Change Before You Can Change

The first thing that must change before you can change is your standards.

Wait...what?!?

You read that correctly.  The first thing that must change before you can change is your standards.  

NOT your financial situation.   

NOT having more time.  

NOT knowing the "right" people.   

CHANGE STARTS WITH YOU.  AND IT STARTS BY RAISING YOUR STANDARDS.

So long as you just accept your situation, nothing will ever change.  You'll just keep making excuses, rationalizing or justifying why "it's not that bad." 

Raising your standards is not about being a "priss" or an "untouchable."

You are always to keep a humble heart and remain grateful for what you have; that goes without saying.  But when you find yourself in an environment that is harmful, or realize you haven't been taking care of yourself; you've developed poor money habits, or you've grown in a new and exciting way...whatever it is for you...you won't make a change until you decide that you won't tolerate staying where you are, or in the situation as it currently exists any longer.  This is raising your standards.

For me, long before I ever stepped foot on stage as a Figure Competitor, I made health and fitness shifts by raising the standards of what I expected of myself-not the aesthetic-the health habits.  (You may or may not know, but I had eating disorders since I was 8 years old.  8 years old!!).

Contest Prep merely helped me solidify my focus, and not exchange short-term pleasures for long term-gain.

Same thing with my leaving abusive relationships and toxic work environments,
and then during the rebuild of who and what I surround myself with...

No matter the endeavor, it has always started with declaring what I REFUSE TO ACCEPT -and then flipping the script to state very clearly what I DO want-even if it scared the $#!+ out of me, or I doubted my ability to do it.

It's never too late, and you're never too far gone to raise your standards and make the change. 💚