Episode 748: Raise Your Standards, Raise Your Results (Mindset & Self-Care)

EBT748 – Raise Your Standards, Raise Your Results

Intro  00:01

Hey food bloggers. Thank you so much for joining me in this mindset and self-care focused episode here on Eat Blog Talk. One of the reasons I started a blog talk was to hold a space to talk about the importance of mindset and self-care. Being an entrepreneur can be a lot. If we are not taking care of ourselves, then getting actionable information about SEO Pinterest or whatever else is all moot. I will meet you back here every Wednesday to discuss various mindset and self-care topics. So you have the energy and space to tackle the rest.

[00:00:34] Megan Porta  

Hey everyone. Welcome back to a mindset episode of Eat Blog Talk. Love recording these episodes. I hope you love listening to them as much as I love recording them.I’m so grateful for you being here. In today’s episode we’re going to talk about raising your standards in order to raise your results. I love this topic and I hope it’s well received. This is about a mindset shift that can really quietly yet powerfully transform your business over time. It’s simple.

[00:01:05]   

Raise your standards and before you brace yourself, no, we’re not talking about perfectionism. That is not it at all. Drop that word from the conversation entirely today. It’s not about nitpicking every detail on your website or pushing yourself into burnout mode for flawless results. That is not our conversation.

[00:01:29]   

Instead, what we’re talking about is making clear decisions about what you will and will not accept in your business, what your boundaries are, how you want to interact with clients and collaborators, and how you follow through with commitments both to others and to yourself. Because when you raise your standards, you raise the quality of your results.

[00:01:50]   

It’s as simple as that. Raising your standards attracts the right people to you and it increases your confidence in what you’re creating and why you’re showing up. Let’s talk about what raising your standards really means.

[00:02:05]   

Raising your standards is not about doing more. Like we said earlier. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about doing better and doing better in the areas that actually matter so that high quality people and opportunities are drawn to you and so you feel better about what you’re putting out into the world. Here are a few examples.

[00:02:26]   

Only saying yes to aligned sponsorships so ones that fit your brand values and your audience like a glove, not just the ones that pay well. Also improving your website experience, so making it load faster, easier to navigate, and making it more visually appealing because you respect your audience’s time and want their visit to be useful and delightful.

[00:02:53]   

Also protecting your deep work hours, so setting clear limits on how often you check your email or your DM so that you can give your creative projects your undivided attention and modeling healthy work boundaries for your peers and team and even your family. Shutting down work at the end of the day, preferably at a set time, and not popping back in till morning. Cannot even tell you how long it took me to learn this one, but once I learned it, I never went back.

[00:03:28]   

It’s so important and impactful. Raising your standards often means honoring the commitments that no one else is tracking. No one else can see these things that you’re doing behind the curtain, but doing them anyway because your integrity matters and you really want to raise your standards. Yes, but also increase your results. Now let’s talk about how low standards might be holding you back.

[00:03:56]   

I have been there. Oh gosh. I feel like I’m the banner child for historically having low standards in certain areas of my life and business. I’m a work in progress, but I’ve moved past a lot of those and I have a lot to share in this area. I’m guessing maybe you can relate as well.

[00:04:22]   

Okay, here’s one way how low standards may have held you back or are holding you back. Currently accepting clients who drain you. You accept them because it’s money. I have learned the hard way that the wrong clients cost more in energy than they ever bring in revenue. If you are a freelancer or maybe you’re a coach of some sort, I am giving you permission today to only take on clients who feel easy to work with.

[00:04:51]   

Yes, that is possible and yes, you should do it. Here’s another one. Publishing content that you know isn’t your best. Can I tell you a little story? Back when I was okay with putting low standard content out into the world because I used to do this, I published a post that I did not feel entirely confident about.

[00:05:14]   

Do you want to know the recipe? Maybe I can conjure up a picture. I’ll see if I still have it. Somewhere to include in this episode. It was grilled red peppers with I believe it was a type of cheese and fudge in the middle.

[00:05:35]   

It was horrible. Why did I put this out into the world? Because it was content and I thought that’s all that mattered. My standards were clearly not very high back then. It took me a couple years to look back into my content and realize that should not be there.

[00:05:52]   

So I quickly removed it. Maybe you are rushing to hit a deadline that is self imposed so you skip updating the SEO or you didn’t retest the recipe knowing that you should have, or you’re settling for just okay, mediocre images. You know, when you’re publishing content that shouldn’t be published. So just stay in tune with that.Here’s another low standard that may be holding you back.

[00:06:22]   

Keeping outdated systems. I think this one is so huge and it’s something that so many of us do. We have a lot on our plates. We have a lot of balls to keep in the air at all times. So we don’t always want to focus on keeping our systems current.

[00:06:38]   

Even though, you know they might be slowing you down, we still allow them to keep chugging along in our businesses. Perhaps it’s a messy folder structure. Maybe it’s your desktop that has 9 million files on it. Maybe it’s outdated software on your computer or on your phone. Or maybe your content calendar is all over the place.

[00:07:00]   

It’s not updated, it’s not current. Or maybe your Gmail calendar is the same way. Whatever it is, fixing it feels like too much work right now. I get it. I’ve been there so, so many times.

[00:07:14]   

In fact, I’m looking at a few files on my desktop right now that need to go. I need to update that system and I think here’s the problem. Your business can still grow under these conditions. I’m still making progress in my business despite these files on my desktop. But it starts to grow a little bit messy and that mess can create stress, inefficiency, mental clutter.

[00:07:42]   

I hate mental clutter. It can also keep you from seeing opportunities that you really want in your life. And all of these things can chip away at your success. Let’s talk through a few tangible ways to raise your standards.

[00:07:56]   

1. Identify three areas you’re currently just tolerating. These are the areas that make you sigh, they make you cringe or procrastinate. My messy desktop definitely makes me cringe. This also could be a chaotic inbox. Been there very recently.

[00:08:15]   

I put a system in place to fix it and it has changed my life. It could also be a slow or glitchy website. I hear this all the time. People go on their own websites and they want to scream because it’s slow or the pop ups don’t work or you can’t close the ads or whatever.It could also be sloppy or outdated contracts for sponsors or brands.

[00:08:42]   

There are so many ways that this can show up in your business. 2. Decide on your new baseline. Ask yourself what is the minimum I am willing to accept. An example is for every blog post I update I will have current SEO best practices.

[00:08:59]   

I’ll have an updated ingredient section with appropriate substitutions and suggestions and fresh images before I republish. Number three Upgrade in small increments. You do not have to overhaul everything at once. Choose one small area, raise the standard and commit to it until you’re in the habit of it, and increase from there. Number four hold yourself accountable even when nobody is looking.

[00:09:31]   

This is the hard part. Sometimes your audience and your peers might not notice what you’re doing behind the scenes instantly, or maybe ever, but they will feel it over time. People can feel the energy in your business, even if it’s a severely messy desktop that’s cluttering your mind and therefore carrying over into other areas.

[00:09:56]   

High standards create a ripple effect in trust and loyalty and results. Number five: Pair high standards with high compassion.

[00:10:05]   

This one is super important. Don’t weaponize your standards against yourself. They’re here to serve you, not shame you. If you fall short one day, or one week, or one month or one summer, it’s okay. Learn and reset.

[00:10:21]   

That’s it. To close. I just want to reiterate. Raising your standards is not about being hard on yourself. It’s about creating an environment where great results become the norm for you.

[00:10:33]   

Because your processes, your commitments and your choices are aligned with the business you want to build, your business will always rise or fall to the level of what you tolerate. I hope this episode resonated with you on some level. Reach out and let me know how you are raising your standards this week.

[00:10:54]   

Send me an email at [email protected] I’d love to hear from you. As always, so great to see you and to meet you here. I will see you next week.

Outro

Thank you so much for listening to this mindset and self care episode. These mindset episodes are now available on YouTube, so watch it over there. Search Eat Blog Talk on YouTube and we’ll see you there.