Is having high standards for yourself a good or bad thing?
Chinese families always have high standards for their children.
A isn’t good enough, why not A+?
A Merit? A MERIT!? WHY NOT DISTINCTION??
How come you haven’t got as many chess/mathletic/olympiad/debating medals as your neighbour/cousin/relative/friend/distant relative?
High standards without empathy and love can lead to toxic childhood and damaged psyches.
Luckily my childhood instilled in me a lot of discipline, and that high standards mean always striving to be better, to be more.
My dad showed this by example.
As an ex-RAF who was fortunate enough to transfer to commercial airline, he always felt that other pilots were younger, faster, better and quicker than he would ever be.
So he would practice, and train, and drill, and prepare, and plan, and work work work.
He had a replica of the cockpits of whatever plane he was flying at that time, with manuals that has been annotated on, compiled into notes, and reduced to mnemonics which he’d recite at every given opportunity.
In a supermarket queue.
In the car, waiting to pick us up.
In private time, in the loo.
“I have to work twice as hard because the younger pilots are so much better than me.”
It’s a great mindset that has seen me through many obstacles and challenges in my life – both personal and professional.
What a gift.
#hardworkpays
#grit
#zenhaoprotip