SET YOUR OWN STANDARDS
- Achieve Success on Your Own Terms

There are so many things in life today which we have accepted as the way things are, the norm and standards of sorts.

These things are just there and we no longer question them yet they determine the very rules we play our game of life.

Actually, we may have never questioned them:
- the size of a basketball?
- the length of a football pitch?
- the width of a single bed?
- the height of a door
- the dimensions of a 330ml can of Coke?

But what if we ask WHY?

In fact, I took some time to think about the dimensions of a 330ml can of Coke.

It is a cylinder with a diameter of 6cm and a height of 12cm.

The biggest cost in packaging this Can must be the aluminium sheet and it would make sense that the Surface Area to Volume ratio be minimised in order to carry the most content at least material.

A sphere would be the optimum shape but would be difficult to store, carry and hold in your hand as you drink.

Other shapes must have been considered before settling for a cylinder.

Mathematically, we can show that the least surface area to volume ratio of a cylinder is achieved when the height of the Can is exactly the same as the diameter of it's base - see calculation in first comment underneath.

So why did Coca Cola opted for a can with a height which is twice that of the base?

Some would say the adopted dimensions give a better visual effect, thus they had to trade off the engineering benefits for something they believed was equally important in driving the sale....and a standard was set; to be strictly adhered to in their pursuit of success.

As we live our lives, we adhere to some standards, things which are just there - norms we have just accepted, sometimes without even noticing.

We  do not question them anymore, our task is to comply.

Our goals, aspirations, trade-offs and how we pursue them are shaped by these unwritten laws.

But what if today, we ask why?

What if today, we decide to rebalance our lives and adjust the tradeoffs according to what holds meaning to us?

What if today, we choose to redefine our goals and how we pursue them?

What if we set a new standard - a standard we can answer why it exists with conviction and one we can strictly adhere to while we believe in it.

Maybe some of our limited progress, limited excitement and enjoyment in life is because we are trying so hard to adhere to a standard:
- we never set
- we do not fully understand
- we do not believe in
and
- we are not committed to

Ask why and set your own standard for:
- your relationships
- your career
- your finances
- your health
- your beliefs

Let's achieve success on our own terms.

Even as you adhere to these, let's
 keep asking why.

In fact, Coca Cola later launched a 250ml Can.

OWN YOUR LIFE,
SET YOUR OWN STANDARDS,
ACHIEVE SUCCESS ON YOUR OWN TERMS!

©GC Diaries