The world today appears to be so fascinated with volume. How much of this do you have, how much of that are you producing, how many calls did you make, how many leads have we generated, how many followers or friends do you have on social media, etc. There appears to be a fascination with the bigness and grandeur of everything. But I question the true value of volume if the quality of whatever it is you have is poor? Would you rather have a dump truck full of manure or a few pots full of roses which takes time and effort to grow?
Stop accepting mediocrity! Stop accepting it from yourself and stop accepting it from those around you. The moment you start accepting less from yourself, you will extend that lowered expectation of everyone else. There is absolutely no (good) reason to accept anything other than the very best from yourself and those around you. And I didn't say the very best in the world... I said YOUR best and the BEST of others. If those around you disagree with you or try to convince you otherwise, then maybe it's time to change who is around you. I've written before that it is so important to surround yourself with those kinds of people you want to be like.
Be über mindful of what you do... are you doing it to the very best of your abilities? Or are you rushing and cutting corners so that you can just get it done quickly? Constantly ask yourself, "would I want, pay for or be excited about whatever it is I am doing or producing?". If the answer is no, you have to up your game big time. Set your standards high in everything you do. Everything you do should show that it has the gold seal of approval with your name on it. It reminds me of a scene from the movie Days of Thunder when Cole Trickle (played by Tom Cruise) is getting to know his crew boss Harry Hogge (played by Robert Duvall) who teaches him about tires. Up until this point, Cole only knows how to race as fast as he can push the car. Harry asks him to do 50 practice laps his way, and 50 laps the way Harry wants him to drive. Watch this video to see the results which underscores my point.
I struggle to remember when the last time I heard someone say they were working to produce THE BEST of what they can and not focused on the amount of what they were working on. In that video, one of them is focused on being fastest, the other is focusing on the best possible driving, which just so happened to produce the fastest time. I've heard many stories of people whom you might label successful because of how much money they make or have made, or how much fame they have achieved or how many followers they may have on social media, yet I hear often just how unhappy these people are.
Success or happiness will not come from how much you make, produce, or consume... if you focus and work every day to become the very best version of yourself to support producing whatever it is you do at the best current possible level... you will be successful and happy. The only way to honestly be proud of whatever it is you do... is knowing that it is the best you have to offer.
To be able to apply this to everything you do, it means you also have to be more intent-full about WHAT you choose to do. Instead of trying to accomplish 25 things today and getting less than half of them done half-assed... I'm telling you to prioritize what you absolutely MUST get done (which will likely be a handful of things) and get them done to the highest standard.
I assure you that if you focus on those things that are the most important to you and do them to your best ability... this will take less energy and carry you farther.