Who sets the standard?

If you buy all your clothes at Walmart, where an “large” t-shirt is really a few inches bigger than a regular “large,” it sets the expectation that “large” is really larger than it is.

If you grow up in an culture where a portion size is the size of your face, you’ll likely default to eating more than you really should.

And if you surround yourself with people who smoke a pack a day, eat a pie a week, or binge watch on the regular, you’ll probably start to do the same.

Of course, it works both ways.

If you’re enmeshed in a cohort of people who encourage and push you to consistently level up, you’ll likely expect more from yourself.

If you were raised by parents who taught you that you can get better with consistent effort and practice, you’ll likely persist until you get to where you want to be.

And if you have a teacher, mentor or coach who doesn’t accept your excuses or mediocre standards, you’ll likely find a way to surpass them.

There’s a lot to be said about how our environment sets the tone for how we regulate our behavior.

The culture that surrounds us. Unwritten norms, yardsticks, and expectations. These things affect us, like it or not.

You can either endorse it, resist it, or change it.