Great Expectations

Not the book! I read that once; it took FOREVER to get through...but actually, this post is more about setting high expectations. In America, it is only too easy to slip by without trying. In college group projects, if you don't pick up the slack, someone else will. But you still get the great grade! What good fortune! We  have the No-Child-Left-Behind Act that encourages teachers not to let students fall behind...really it just encourages teachers to edit grades just enough that students pass. It is now socially acceptable to not care too much about physical appearance; people can walk in to stores looking like a hot mess with their bedhead and pajamas.

What happened to cause this? I believe it is in part due to the lowering of standards and expectations. Time and again it is shown that when expectations are high, people will rise to the occasion to meet them. But if they don't have to "rise" to the occasion, why bother, right?

Since the general standards and expectations are lower, people need to set for themselves the higher standards, making themselves the benchmark of greatness. This takes self-discipline, motivation, and commitment but the results are invaluable. People striving for excellence in all that they do achieve things they never thought possible. The goals they may originally deem impossible to meet, get accomplished and in turn become even higher goals. People who do this gain self-respect and pride in who they are. They realize what they can accomplish. They learn and grow as an individual and cause those around them to grow as well.