For those who’ve followed me for a long time, you may recall that my middle daughter, Kya, does pole vault. She started in Jr. high and is now a Sophomore. Quite the endeavor if you ask me. You’re given a pole, with which you carry with you at high speed toward a contraption, gently placing the tip of the spear in a divot and, in so doing, allow the centripetal force to hurl vault you over a bar that happens to be very high off the ground. If, by chance, you’ve done it all halfway correct up to this point and cleared said bar, you then realize you’re only halfway done. For you see, what goes up, must come down. And at the same rate of speed that you ascended in the air, you return to earth at that same speed (i.e. Newton’s Third Law). So, as your body accelerates toward planet Earth, you must contort your body and hold your mouth just right as gravity compels you downward onto the mat that’s been sitting outside for way too long and is less soft than it should be. Land wrong, and it could go very bad for you. Land right, and you get a chance to do it all over again. Yeah!
I’m fairly fascinated by this sport now that I have a daughter who does it, and I now know a few more high school kids that do it as well. I noticed the other day that as Kya was up for her first attempt, she shouted out that her ‘standards’ should be set at 20. Standards are the contraption that holds the bar that the vaulter is trying to get over in place. They can be moved forward and backwards as the athlete desires. A standard of “20” indicates that the bar will be 20 inches from the divot where the tip of the pole is placed. The ability to adjust the standards allows for differing body types, or wind speed, or preference depending on the kind of day the athlete is having.
So, at 20, Kya didn’t clear the bar.
The next attempt, Kya moved her standards to 18. Again, she didn’t clear the bar.
Her last and final try at this height, she declared the standards shall be 19, and thus they were. And… she cleared the bar.
Turns out the setting of her standards can be the difference between success and, well, learning. She learned where to set them for that day, that meet. And she cleared the bar.
So, what are your standards? No, I don’t mean the vault contraption, I mean the set of beliefs you’re living by. For me, Integrity is everything. You can count on me to do what I say, even when no one is looking, no matter the cost. Question my integrity, it won’t go well for you. It’s the plumb line of my life. May it be so of yours as well.
How about Trust. When a person enters my life, whether a new acquaintance or team member at my firm, I give them my full trust. It’s theirs to lose. Unfortunately, some do.
Respect. We all come from different backgrounds and experiences. We all have a story to tell, a dad-wound that needs healed. I respect you for having come this far. Life isn’t easy. The journey behind you often leaves us with wounds and scars. But if you’re still here, it means you’ve journeyed well, and your path isn’t done. I respect the path you’re on and hope to offer encouragement along the way.
Faith. For me, I have faith in a Higher Power. We haven’t been put here for no reason. We were each created on purpose, for a purpose. I have faith in His purpose for me. May you find faith in something outside of yourself and live out your calling in this world with those standards in mind.
Grateful. I won’t be deterred by the 24-hour news cycle that seeks to pump me full of bad news and negative thinking. I choose gratitude. I keep a gratitude journal that I write in each weekday. Gratitude vanquishes negative emotion. I want to live Above the Line. Being grateful allows me a fighting chance to do that.
What other standards would you add? What standards, when set, allow you to vault effortlessly above the bar? What principles do you live by? What beliefs drive you to be a better version of yourself each and every day?
Set your standards right, it will go well for you, you’ll clear the bar. Set them wrong, life may get a bit choppy. Standards help define us. They put a stake in the ground and remind us of basic beliefs we won’t compromise on. They allow us to be better, run further, journey better, and clear the bar set at new heights.
May you find your standards. May you live according to them each and every day.
And may you find purpose and meaning to your life as you clear the bar and live victoriously for the day that awaits…
