Skip to main content

Simple Standards And Why They Should Matter


For as long as I can remember, my friend Ed has always been late. In fact, Ed is so habitually late that he has his own time that I call "Ed Time". Even though Ed is late to EVERYTHING, I still like him and he's my friend. 

My buddy Dave is a super funny guy and is always on-time, but only when its convenient for him. Dave will either be on-time or so early that you'll never have to think twice about him being like Ed. But that's only if he shows up at all! 

Do you know anyone like Ed or Dave? Do you have a friend that is dependable, but not punctual, or maybe punctual, but not dependent? If you've answered yes to any of these questions, then I've got some great advice for you.

Simple Standards

No matter who you are, you have standards. Now, you might not have the same standards as your parents, siblings or the person sitting next to you on the subway, but you've got standards. There are many different standards, some simple and easy that each of us use everyday. To me, having a good routine is an important standard because it gives me structure to the day. When I'm in my routine, I feel organized and more efficient. I know that I'm less likely to be late or undependable when I'm in my routine.

Punctuality

We all know someone like my friend Ed, don't we? Both Ed and your friend are great people, but their major downfall is their awful punctuality. I've known Ed for a long time and over those years I've known he doesn't have much in the way of a routine. I'm sure Ed has SOME resemblance of a routine, but it is obviously not impacting him enough to eliminate the Ed Time moniker. 

Dependability 

But what about Dave? Remember him? Dave is never late. Ever! But, Dave simply cannot be counted on because he isn’t dependable. If I was in a jam and had to make one phone call to get a ride to the hospital, I would unfortunately be waiting a long time, because I would call Ed instead of Dave. I know Ed will show up and that he will be late, but at least Ed will show up! I would never be able to guess if Dave would actually show up.  

The Standards Today

If you take away anything from reading this, it should be that you know which of your friends is Ed or Dave. You never want to be in the situation where your life depends on it and you call the wrong friend. But in all seriousness, the takeaway here is that being punctual and dependable are two extremely important standards in our society. I couldn’t possibly see myself as Ed or Dave when I know how much it means to people to be on-time and responsible. It isn’t within in me to put people so far down that I’d completely blow them off. Who even does that? 

Whether you have a simple standard like treating people using the Golden Rule or a routine where you always back into a parking spot, be aware of your standards, because they impact everyone around you. You wouldn’t like it if I changed my hygiene standards, would you?  Let’s hope I’m punctual, dependable and clean the next time we are meeting or sitting next to each other on the bus.


Marques Thomey
August 21, 2019

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How I make choosing easier

In Sheena Iyengar’s TEDx video (2011), she describes four techniques you can use to improve choosing or decision-making. These techniques included cut, concretize, categorize and condition. Each technique is unique, and I have used these at one point or another in my life. As Iyengar describes it, she says to “be choosy about choosing” (Iyengar, 2011) which is a brilliant statement that summarizes her video about making choices. Whether you’re a child or an adult, everyone goes through each day having to make many decisions. All too often, we over complicate scenarios in which we could have used these techniques to improve our decision-making. The two techniques I’d like to discuss are cut and categorize. Cut or cutting, involves reducing or outright eliminating choices from the decision matrix. In order to make choosing easier, we must reduce the number of choices. Iyengar (2011) points out the choice overload problem, where as consumers, we are overloaded with far too many choice...
Post a Comment
Read more

My Strengths and Weaknesses

  My Distinctive Strengths I feel like a lot of what I do I do really well. When I put my mind to it, I believe I can do whatever I want. I know that I’m well organized, I’m a great communicator, I’m someone that recognizes strengths in other people and I’m also great at building people up. My Potential Strengths I know I can do better in some areas, but certain things prevent me from accomplishing them. Namely, if I don’t already have work in my queue, I’m really not that interested in adding it. This also adds to a lack of focus, which is something I know I should do better. Also, I think I could do a better job at remembering things if I applied myself more to the situation. Dispositions That Support Me My positivity is at the top of the list for me that I don’t want to change. I get so much of my mojo from being and staying positive that I can’t see myself changing this. I also think that my faith is something that I wouldn’t change, unless I did it for myself. That i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Guns, Guns, Guns

  Guns Do we have a right to bear arms? According to LaFollette (2007), this is a moral question, not a constitutional one (p. 180). The United States Constitution certainly says we do. Millions of citizens would also say we do, as well. Hundreds of years ago, the founding fathers of this country decided that people should be able own firearms. It wasn’t simply owning the weapons that they were intent on stating, but that it was a right of every person. A right means that no one can take it away from you for any reason. Just like freedom of speech, everyone has the right to own a gun. However, there are concerns, rightfully so, from people who wish to create a more sensible approach to this right. Gun control advocates have long considered accidents involving guns a major reason for introducing greater regulation of firearms, including such measures as mandated training for gun purchases, firearm safety locks, and strict limitations on the ownership of handguns ( Utter & Spi...
Post a Comment
Read more