Tag: standards

The bare minimum

When working a W-2 job as an employee, don’t expect a raise just because you show up to work on time, you don’t take sick days, and you‘be been there for a long time. Showing up to work on time and not missing extra days is the bare minimum of what you should be doing. That’s part of the job! But just showing up doesn’t necessarily mean you’re providing value to your employer. You still have to perform, and that’s what your raise should be for (if you get one). It should be based on merit – how are you “deserving” of a raise? (By the way, I despise the word “deserve”…we are becoming very entitled and often feel we “deserve” things when we really are owed nothing.)

There are a lot of downsides with being an employee, one of which is that someone else gets to determine what you make (whether that’s hourly or salary). But that employer has taken the risk of being an entrepreneur. They are responsible for keeping the business afloat, for always striving to find more customers so that they can pay their employees. If you haven’t put in the legwork and only see the end result of what you think the employer is making, it can seem wrong with how much they’re making with how “little” work they’re currently doing. But that’s the wrong mindset to have. And if you want to do something about it, you have three options: negotiate for higher pay, find another job, or start your own business.

Tolerant with others. Strict with yourself.

“”Tolerant with others. Strict with yourself. Marcus Aurelius
“Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself.” – Marcus Aurelius

You know what you should do, so go do it. It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel like it. If it’s the right thing to do and it needs to be done, don’t waste anymore time procrastinating. It may be easier to skip that workout, to eat fast food, to go on a spending spree, or to not speak up against injustice, but that doesn’t give you the excuse to not do what you feel is right. Or, maybe you do what is needed, but you only do the bare minimum. Be careful of this. How you do anything is how you do everything. If you start looking for shortcuts, eventually that will be your default behavior.

That being said, that’s what YOU should do. That doesn’t mean that you should hold others to the same standards. Don’t mistake this for letting them off the hook and letting them get away with things that are dangerous, amoral, or illegal. They shouldn’t take advantage of people and still need to be called out (or stopped) when they’re doing something egregious. But for the little things that don’t really matter? Skip the criticism.

Others may do things differently than you – in a way that appears to be less effective and less efficient – but at least they’re doing it. If they ask for advice or for help, then offer it. But don’t do it before then. And don’t judge them for not doing something like you would. After all, those are your standards, not theirs. Be tolerant of their decisions, but strict with your own. If you feel your way of doing things is the “best way” to currently do them, don’t lower your standards just to make things easier for yourself.