If you want to improve identify your standard

As we travel through life, we often uncover a need to change. It may be that we have been eating out too much and want to lose weight or save money. It might be related to our relationships. We want to be a better spouse or spend more time with our children.

Most people come face to face with a desire to have a different outcome than what they are experiencing at some point in their life. I know I come to this realization often. The problem arises when it comes time to execute on that desire.

Great planners will easily map out the path forward. Go getters will start sprinting towards their new goal. Procrastinators will sit back and wait until the motivation builds.

Regardless of how you tackle change, most people miss a key factor. They focus solely on the improvement and ignore their current standard process. The standard is powerful but easily overlooked.

If you are involved in continuous improvement in a business setting, you know how important it is to know where you are starting. It helps to have the process documented to have benchmark data on the effectiveness of the current process.

The understanding of the current process is critical because you don’t know if you improve without it. You might feel as though you are better, but are you?

It is because of this that they are able to identify steps to change. They can see what they are currently doing and measure where it gets them. They know what they have and then can tweak the process and measure to see if it gets better. This is known as the Deming Cycle and involves 4 steps: Plan, Do, Check/Study, Act.

When it comes to our personal desire to improve (not business) we struggle because we don’t appreciate the standard. We don’t give it attention. We don’t realize its power over us. Without the awareness of it, we take it for granted and assume change will be easy.

But then we hit the wall. Suddenly we slip back to our ways. We cave to our habits instead of our new shiny path forward. Instead of improvement we have plateaued. Or worse, we slide backwards.

These standards are important. They drive our life forward. Ignoring them and wanting something better fails. We need to appreciate them and give them their credit.

This will allow us to tackle personal improvement like a business implementing continuous improvement. Because we know the standard, we also know when it comes back alive. It may lie dormant as we start our new routine. Sooner or later, it comes crashing back. Let’s face it, we had it there for a reason, even if that reason was that it was the easy, comfortable path.

If you want to improve, start with what you are doing. Look at the full scope. Look at the events, patterns, structures, and mental models that all work together to hold these actions in place.

If you do this properly, you will see the force and power. You will understand why you do what you do. You will also gain an understanding of the areas that are weakest and able to be tweaked.

You will also be on the lookout for the return of these habits. When they appear, you will recognize them and move towards overcoming them, treating them as obstacles instead of a comfortable ex.

I have become very aggressive in this area. Outsiders sometimes laugh because they don’t understand why something got so much attention from me when something similar (in their mind) didn’t.

If I am trying to lose weight, I know my weaknesses. One is that I love cookies for dessert. Others may find it strange that I fight so hard to avoid eating a cookie but can eat a bowl of ice cream without guilt. I know that I don’t enjoy ice cream that much so indulging one time isn’t something that will turn into 5 straight days of eating ice cream. But buy a box of thin mints and I know I will eat the whole box by the weekend, and then head to the store for some Oreos.

When we know our standards, we learn what has power over us. We know what needs to be treated with 100% effort. The current standard processes are critical if we want to employ lasting change and improve our lives. Spend the time to find them and then work to be aware of their power and influence over you so you know when they are sabotaging your efforts to become better. You will learn more about yourself and find better ways to change to see the results you are after.