Sometimes, The Truth HURTS!

Well now, believe it or not but, some people will have already gotten offended just by the graphic that I've posted.  We live in a world today - at least in the United States - that is over-run with people and the idea that all should be done to keep from hurting anyone's feelings.

Isn't that special?

Whatever you do, be SURE to listen to the podcast that goes along with this article - I really "went off" on this whole idea. WARNING: If you are of this "sensitive type", you may be offended when you listen!

In our country - the United States of America - our current administration has gone overboard with this whole "politically correct" idea to the point that, in my opinion, they have put us - the American people - at risk. I believe that to be true, 100%. 

We have college students who demand to have a "safe place" that they can go without having a chance of being offended or having their feelings hurt while they are in that area. Are you kidding me?

Lawsuits - silly and frivolous -  are the norm in our society and it is a part of this whole "they hurt my feelings" atmosphere and philosophy. 

It has really exploded over the past few years but, friend, it has been coming for a long time and, to some extent, you and I are to blame. 

For years now, parents have increasingly become "over protective" of their children in just about every way. It has been proven that many childhood illnesses can be attributed to the fact that many have tried to make their child's environment "germ free" which, in effect, lowers that child's body from building immunity to such illnesses. Parents have rushed to the aid of their child(ren) at every fall, bump or bruise to the point that the child begins to whine and cry at any little thing that is the least bit uncomfortable. What happens when these children get to pre-school? Ask a teacher.

Parents, increasingly over the years, rush to the school to scold teachers and administrators when they feel their child has been mistreated. If you doubt that - ask a teacher. Kids pick on other kids and parents rush in almost demanding a full-scale investigation into the matter. Again...ask a teacher.

I understand the need to teach children how to treat others with kindness and respect. However, "bullying" or one kid picking on another, has been around since the beginning of time. I went through it and, likely, so did you. And, though I'm not proud to say it, I also was - at times - on the end of the one that was picking on others. And, likely, you may have done so as well. 

Can I "get real" here for a moment? THAT'S LIFE! When we run to our child's rescue anytime there is a perceived injustice or anytime they have had their feelings hurt WE are actually the ones doing them the injustice!

Why? Because we are not teaching them how to HANDLE those types of situations. Instead of teaching them how to handle those types of things and how to "brush it off" and develop the positive mindset needed to do so, we want to change the world instead so that "my child" can be "protected". 

Well friends, we are seeing the "fruits" of that run rampant in our society today. 

There will ALWAYS be "injustice" in our society. Why? Because our society consists of all different kinds of people. There will ALWAYS be those that "bully" us. Always. There will ALWAYS be others that enjoy trying to make themselves feel better about themselves by degrading others. Why? Again, it's called, "other people exist". 

The real question is, "What will YOU do?".

We MUST teach our kids and our grandkids how to handle these situations. We must teach them how to "toughen up" a bit and to learn how to "brush off" these types of things and move on. However, in order for this to take place, WE - as adults - must learn and practice this, ourselves!

I honestly believe that this is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY if our society in America is to survive. I really do believe it's that serious.

It all starts with YOU and me. And, it must start NOW!

Let me say this - I must. If you are a teacher and you had one of my kids in your class, let me apologize for the times that I did just what I discussed above Yes, I "ran to their rescue" on way too many occasions and I apologize for doing so. I can't go back and undo it but, maybe, I can help others from repeating the same mistake.

Again, if you haven't done so yet, you need to listen to the podcast on today's topic. Just click one of the links at the bottom of this article to do so. There is SO MUCH MORE information and additional thoughts that I share with you there that is not found in this article. 

If you listen by going to iTunes, please take a moment and leave a review - I thank you in advance! Also, be sure to stop by the FYU fan page on Facebook and let me know that you left that review AND to just say "hello" and let me know that you are benefiting from Future You University. 

As always, THANKS for joining me today and, please, share this with as many as possible and always be sure to keep moving forward, closer to your dream!

And, until next time, whatever you do,  be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

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Raise the Bar of Your Expectation

Raise the Bar of Your Expectation!

The thought of everyone being exceptional is a nice thought, isn't it? It's a pleasant thought for all parents to believe that their children are exceptional and it's also a pleasant thought to all adults to think that they, themselves, are exceptional.

The only problem with this is the fact that it is simply not true. Sorry to burst your bubble!

One of the definitions for exceptional given by dictionary.com is as follows: "unusually excellent; superior".

Now, when I read this definition it tells me that if exceptional means unusually excellent then I need to check out the definition for that word as well. Here it is: "possessing outstanding quality or superior merit; remarkably good."

Now friend, as bad as we may wish that this were true of everyone the plain truth is that it IS NOT! The truth is that, lowering the bar does NOT make everyone exceptional. We can applaud that approach and say that it breeds confidence and excellence and whatever else you want to say but the simple truth is that it breeds MEDIOCRITY! (Go back and listen to one of the earlier podcasts this week to hear my full rant on that).

You already know this, but I'm here to encourage you to do the opposite. Instead of lowering the bar of expectation and settling for less, why not RAISE THE BAR OF YOUR EXPECTATION and stretch and grow along the way?

Can you imagine watching a basketball game without any goals? What would be the point of the competition - to see who could dribble the best? When you think of the activities during the NBA's "All-Star Weekend" they are all focused on either the physical goal (3 point contest, dunk contest, All-Star game, Rookie game) OR achievement goals (the skills challenge).

What about football? What if the goal lines and the goal post were removed from the competition? What about hockey? Soccer?

What if there were no home runs in baseball and no one kept score in ANY of these events? Oh, I know some of you might say, "What would be so bad about that?"

Well, again, go back to one of my previous podcasts/blogs for the week and answer the question if YOU want to ride on an airplane or get behind the wheel of an automobile that was constructed (if that would even be possible) by a group of people that never had grades or goals to measure their abilities. Go ahead, you can take my seat ANYTIME!

You see, this is one reason why we must WAKE UP and FIGHT to remove this "disease" of mediocrity from our own lives! It IS a killer of hope and a killer of dreams. And, it is also a killer of life.

"A killer of life? How so?"

Here's how: When you allow mediocrity (settling for less) to take root in your life you have ceased to LIVE. You have begun to "exist".

One sure way to rid your life of mediocrity is to RAISE THE BAR OF YOUR EXPECTATION for yourself!

Yes, this will take PLANNING , this will take FOCUS, this will take DEDICATION and this will take ACTION - but what noble effort doesn't require these things of those that pursue?

"Oh, but if I raise my expectations too high I might fail!"

Here's a secret for you... you WILL fail in your efforts! ("Wait a minute, I thought you were here to ENCOURAGE me, Mike!?")

How do I know that and why would I say that? Here we go - pay close attention!

If you set goals and you reach them easily then you need to raise the bar of your expectations AGAIN! Easy success is not really success, is it? If you don't have to change anything in order to reach that goal, what has been accomplished?

Imagine someone saying this, "Today I'm going to set a goal of doing everything like I always do!"

What would you say about that?

This is why I say RAISE the bar of your expectation... if you're already "clearing the bar" without any effort you're not really accomplishing much.

Oh, I understand that a great athlete may be able to jump over the bar higher than anyone else and be considered the best! However, if it has become easy for him and he never tries to "raise the bar" to see if he might be able to do even better, his accomplishment has ceased! And, sooner or later, someone will surpass him while he sits by admiring his past accomplishment.

I could go on and on with this but, the bottom line is this: IT IS UP TO YOU to raise the bar of your expectations!

When - no if - you fall short, get up, learn the lesson that needs to be learned before you make your next attempt and then go at it again! DO NOT SETTLE FOR LESS!

The idea of EVERYONE being exceptional as a way to boost confidence is a lie. The "confidence" is not confidence at all - it is a false feeling that will catch up sooner or later and lead to dissatisfaction, disappointment, disillusion and, eventually, disgust!

Why not raise the bar, rid your life of mediocrity and settling for less and PUSH yourself FORWARD to greater things in your life?

You DO have that ability and you CAN accomplish more IF you dedicate yourself to the process.

And, as you do so...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Is Mediocrity Acceptable?

Is Mediocrity Acceptable?

Let's start off by asking a few more questions that will help us answer the question found in the title of today's entry...

1. Is mediocrity accepted in our world?

2. Is mediocrity accepted in YOUR world? (your friends and relatives; the people you spend your time with)

3. Is mediocrity acceptable to YOU?

We're going to break each one of these down a little more in a moment, but I want you to understand that, many times, something IS or ISN'T acceptable to you based on the influence of those around you. Think about it and I'm sure you can come up with many examples of your own. Here are just a couple that comes to my mind today:

Example 1: Those that have been raised with religious mindset, have "gone to church" most of their life, spend their time with friends and family of the same mindset will likely a different view of what is acceptable and unacceptable than those that have had no such background. What may be perfectly acceptable to those brought up in a "non-religious home" might be considered unacceptable by those that were. This example could go on and on but I think you get the main idea AND, let me point out, that on EITHER side of this those ideas and thoughts can be changed by changing the people that they spend time with!

Example 2: Those that have been raised in a home that pays a lot of attention to manners (table manners, proper attire for certain occasions, etc.) will very likely have a different idea of what is or isn't acceptable than those that were raised in a much more casual atmosphere. The more casual family may not give a second thought to having their elbows on the table, talking with food in their mouth, laughing and joking at the table, etc. while the "manners family" might find all of this very unacceptable.

Again, you can come up with your own examples, but I wanted to give those so that we can understand that even in the area of mediocrity this can be true! So, let's break down the three questions presented above and see what we come up with, o.k.?

1. Is mediocrity accepted in our world (as a whole)? I suppose it's rather hard for me to speak about the world, so I'll focus my thoughts on the U.S.A. as to what I have observed in this area. My answer for the U.S.A. - YES! I do think that, in many areas and due to the "political correctness poison" that seems to rule so many times that we have allowed mediocrity to be acceptable. I know that many won't agree with me but, in my opinion, when we have activities for our children (ball games, school, etc.) where we don't keep score, we don't give our awards unless EVERYONE gets them and we don't give out grades - all so that they can all feel ACCEPTED - we are accepting and TEACHING mediocrity! Be sure to listen to the podcast for today on a couple of questions I have for you concerning these ideas. I think you'll find that all of this sounds really good until you really see the ultimate outcome of such thinking.

2. Is mediocrity accepted in YOUR world? Again, you can go back to the two examples given above about how things are or are not acceptable greatly in part - many times - because of the influences around us. I really want to you sit up and take notice of this in your own life and see what kind of influences you are allowing in THIS area of your life! Here's a real clue on the acceptance level of those around you --- how often do you hear them make comments or suggestions to you or others in "your world" to just "let it go"? I'm not talking about letting go of anger or worry here. I'm talking about responsibility. Someone might say, "I really need to go back home and finish up on some paperwork that my boss needs done" and the reply might be, "Oh, just let it go. Don't worry about it! You can throw something together at the last minute, right?" -- WARNING SIGN! High school and college is a breeding ground for mediocrity in this way many times, so BEWARE of those that make up "your world"!

3. Is mediocrity acceptable to YOU? You likely will already have your honest answer just by considering the first two questions presented in this article today. You may even be surprised to find out how accepting you have become of mediocrity in your own life. That's right, you may need to make some changes in your life UNLESS you are satisfied with living a mediocre life and settling for less. It's up to you!

Most of us find the thought of mediocrity distasteful! But, just like with many things, given enough time, we can get used to almost anything.

DO NOT FALL INTO THIS TRAP!

From yesterday's title - BEWARE Mediocrity! And, from today - FIGHT the tendency for it to become acceptable in your life.

And, as you do...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike