WordUp by Chad Gramling

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I almost posted this one in the “Thoughts on Civility” series, but I wasn’t sure it fit so well there. But I was thinking about what we affectionately call the “status quo” today. The more I thought about it, the more I got excited by the fact that it was something I could actually blog about (if you haven’t noticed, I have been suffering from a bit of bloggers block lately).

Whether you consider status quo positively or negatively is not really of relevance, but I have come to realize that the way I have approached it in my lifetime has been pretty distinct. What’s more, if we chose to do so, we could leverage status quo to bigger and better things in our lives and societies.

As I considered this today, I started thinking about second grade when I developed my sure-fire approaches to “good” grades. I may have developed this before then, but second grade was the first time I recall doing it with specific intent.

You see, I have long-suffered from what I can now describe as the “Ricky Bobby Syndrome” – I wanted to go fast. So I did all my projects as fast as I could to be done first. It may be worth noting that I have already observed this type of behavior in my 3-year-old daughter. That may in fact be the case in all kids but I don’t know.

So, having been done with all my work, I took the opportunity to walk around and look at what my peers were doing. If there were projects that looked too much like mine, I would go back to my desk and improve upon my own. Some kids suggested it was cheating, but I never really thought of it that way. To me, it was holding myself to a higher standard. My teachers must have agreed because I was often thought to be a very creative student.

The simple fact is that I always wanted my work – in addition to being done first – to stand out from the rest. This is where many others will suggest it is a matter of “raising the bar” or “thinking outside the box” but I don’t like to paint things into corners (yes, the cliché was intentional).

For the record, I don’t think there is any box and bars are for gymnastics.

But what I am getting at is the concept of status quo and our attitude towards it. I remember a conference where Debbi Fields of Mrs. Fields Cookies fame explained her simple recipe for business success. It contains two ingredients; “Butter Tastes Better” and “Good Enough is Not Good Enough.”

Think about that for a moment.

Mrs. Fields demanded that her cookies be made with the “real” thing when every other baker used less expensive imitation ingredients that diminished the overall quality. In doing so, she also held her product to higher standards. She wanted her cookies to stand out from every other cookie. She knew that people would go out of their way and even pay a little more for a superior product that stood above the status quo. It’s a recipe many other successful businesses have deployed to take their companies to new realms (think Starbucks, Apple, etc.).

But what about people? How do we integrate such a recipe into our own lives?

Might I suggest we start with status quo?

That’s right. I think we all reach a point in life where we suggest to ourselves that we have accomplished enough. We obtain a certain status and we become content. We realize it and then we convince ourselves that good enough is good enough. Then we never do anything significant again. And sadly, I think this is when people start to die (a bleak perspective, I know).

And while you might think I mean this to apply to careers and employment, think again. There is a place for that sort of thing. But there is much more to life than a career. Your employment is important, but if it is simply to make money, you’re missing out. A career should have significance beyond a way to pay for your bills (most of which are also the result of status quo thinking). Jobs can be much more fulfilling if you place a personal interest in them and approach them with an enthusiasm that is the result of something more than money.

Consider the possibilities of living a life where you seek out and achieve satisfaction in areas centering around your family, your hobbies, or even in helping others. Consider how much more satisfying it would be to take your personal life to new heights where there were “no limits” placed upon you by status quo.

Would you give into divorce as an easy way out of a difficult relationship simply because it has become status quo? Would you continue to drive yourself into debt by buying fancy cars and massive houses because it is the status quo? Would you work seventy-hour weeks to get that next carrot at work simply because it is status quo?

I envision a day where status quo will merely be a starting point. A launching pad. I envision a day where we will not settle for status quo. Instead, I suggest you make no room for status quo in your life. Live it like it is yours.

Because it is.

[tags]status quo, life, inspiration[/tags]