“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected.” Steve Jobs
Being a benchmark of quality is not always an easy thing. However, it is a necessary thing, if you desire to thrive in any environment where excellence is an expectation, not just an ideal. Indeed, it's not always easy to be a yardstick of quality, especially if those around us aren't accustomed to such.
However, being that yardstick and upholding the quality in our environments benefits us greatly - in our health, well-being, and overall life. Steve Jobs' drives home this very important aspect - people need to accustom themselves to excellence. He is alluding to the fact that when you build a corporate culture of excellence, you create organisational capacity and a structure that empowers, focuses and engages employees. You stop wasting a tremendous amount of time and money nurturing an outmoded culture focused on problem-solving.
The great news is we can take his wisdom and apply this philosophy to our everyday lives, not just the workplace. In creating our physical environments outside of work, and our internal environment, how we think, act and react. We don’t always pay attention to quality and excellence. When the reality is that our environments inside and out affect us significantly - they impact in our health, our general well-being, and even our life outcomes.
Research has shown a strong connection between an individual’s environment and their mental and physical health. In other words, the quality of your environment is crucial for your overall health. If your environment is constantly disordered and dishevelled, it is likely to cause stress and anxiety, affecting your mental health. On the other hand, if it is more orderly, neat, and tidy, it helps induce calm and peace, contributing to mental stability.
Also, think about an environment where the culture of mediocrity is accepted versus one where only the best is good enough, but you achieve this through encouragement which empowers everyone that shares that space. Where would you likely achieve more and improve yourself?
In an environment of excellence, there are challenges that push you to think, work and live better. It encourages continuous growth, reflection, implementation and improvement. Meanwhile, in a setting where mediocrity is tolerated, there’s less impetus for growth and self-improvement. Let’s not forget the role our environment plays in our general life outcomes. If you desire to achieve great things, to grow, to improve, to live a more fulfilled life, understanding that your everyday environments play a key role in all these are essential. Creating an environment where quality is esteemed and nurtured helps us reach for these aspirations.
To ensure the best for ourselves, it's important we pay attention to the quality of the environment we create around us, taking care to build an atmosphere that promotes health, encourages growth, and nudges us towards our best selves. So remember by being our own yardstick of quality, we not only lift the standard around us but we also significantly impact our life in positive ways.
Let’s not conform to the standards of an ordinary world where mediocrity is accepted as our best, let’s rise up and be the benchmark for quality and let this standard create an extraordinary world where excellence is the norm.
