Live the Dream

It is quite shocking how many people have never been taught the pleasure and pride in setting standards and living up to them. What is additionally frightening is that it seems many school systems and work environments are only adding to the mundane schedules of our daily lives when in reality they should be enhancing them. The truth is, most people are excruciatingly bored. They dislike school because it expects little of them, oh it may respect much of their memorization skills, but at the end of their year when that diploma is handed over they are just another fish floundering at sea. Work, which so many of us hope and pray will be a dream come true can also turn into routine and humdrum. The result on our parts, is laziness. Laziness translates into boredom and when we are bored we usually end up watching Man vs. Food with a bag of Ho-Ho's before we set a life altering goal and strike out to achieve it. 

Now that work, school, TV, whatever your current roadblock may be, has been identified, don't use it as an excuse not to get moving. Here is the truth: setting standards and living up to them enhances character, aides creativity and, as William James once said, "it is need and struggle that excite and inspire us." If you have been sitting on the couch everyday after work with your chips and soda-pop, I might not recommend setting a standard like "I'm going to sprint 5 miles everyday instead." No, I'd say take it down a notch and maybe at least take a walk, get 30 minutes of fresh air, read 15 minutes in a self-help/motivational book or something along those lines. Do that for a period of time (set a time goal too) and it is amazing how accomplished, happy and healthy you will feel. Slowly your standards will rise as will your spirits.

Charles de Gaulle said, "a man of character finds a special attractiveness in difficulty, since it is only by coming to grips with difficulty that he can realize his potentialities." Every single human being is one of character and standards if we only make the decision to be so. 

Live The Dream.

Chelsea Kuhn