“You dont get what you want, you get what you tolerate.”

Tonya Leigh

Tonya Leigh has great perspective on living life artfully and well. She encourages her clients to establish a Red Velvet Rope policy — the idea that you treat your life like a carefully cultivated VIP nightclub. Imagine a strict dress code, exclusive invites, and the best party around.

Sometimes, without even realizing it, we lower our standards. The way we speak to ourselves. How we treat ourselves. What we think of our own accomplishments.

Our minds determine what we are capable of.

When you raise the bar on your own life, you raise your standards. When your standards are lifted, your life will automatically experience an upgrade. Here are 7 ways you can raise your standards today:

1. Upgrade what you put into your mind. The books you read, the podcasts you listen to, the magazines you consume, the accounts you follow.

2. Change your conversations. Notice when negative outweighs the positive. Focus on creation, not destruction.

3. Invest in yourself. Sign up for a class, set a goal you hope to accomplish by the end of the month, schedule time to hit the gym, find a life coach.

4. Stop worrying. Anxiety chases dreams. Make a list of your worries, then set it aside. Sure, some fear is justified and real, but worrying won’t help you level up.

5. Edit your relationships. Minimize time spent with gossips and energy vampires. Find like-minded dreamers who encourage each other to succeed.

6. Expect more. Expect more from yourself and those close to you. You’ll love the results.

7. Rewrite definitions. So much of the way we see the world and ourselves comes down to definition. Those definitions can be changed. Tony Robbins says most people simply give up, stop trying, and accept “That’s just the way it is.” It doesn’t have to be this way.

Raising your standards isn’t about making money or becoming famous. This is about mindset.

Expect more. You’re worth it.