A true story has it that one older 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,
Mister. Coach told us we had to keep running wind sprints 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, or how happy your
relationships should be? 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.
Steve Goodier Publisher@LifeSupportSystem is a professional
speaker, consultant and author of numerous books. He has become a
global voice of inspiration. Visit his site for more information,
or to sign up for his free ezine < http://LifeSupportSystem.com >
Get his eBook "Laughing All the Way" for free ($4.95 value) at
http://www.lifesupportsystem.com/laughingallway.html . Just enter
the code "free" (without quotes) as you check out.
