Who is setting your standards for you?

A true story has it that one elder man decided to jog around the local high school football field. As he huffed and puffed along, the team was in practice. The players soon started running sprints up and down the field. The man told himself, “I’ll just keep running until they quit.”

So he ran. And they ran. And he ran some more. And they kept running. And he kept running until he could finally run no more. He stopped in exhaustion. One of the players, equally exhausted, approached him and said, “Boy, I’m glad you finally stopped. Coach told us we had to keep running as long as the old guy was jogging!” He was watching them. They were watching him. He was letting them set his standard. They allowed him to set theirs.

My question is this: Are you keeping pace with somebody else? Are you allowing other people to set your standards for you? What about your standards, or principles, for moral behavior? Or guidelines for what kind of attitudes you want? Do you keep pace with those around you, or do you decide yourself just how you will live your life? The truth is... only you are qualified to determine what your standards will be.

Set your standards too low, and you’ll know only discontent. But set high standards and you can live an immeasurably full and worthwhile life. For only when you reach for the best that is within yourself, will you experience great living.

Who is setting your standards?