High Standards
How "acting OCD" can be your superpower
Physical training is the best way to improve your life. However, you might not be training because you don’t have access to a gym, do not know what to do in the gym, or believe you are not in good enough shape to work out. I want to break down all of those barriers. Click the subscribe button or upgrade your subscription to start a training program that will make anybody stronger.
Have you ever realized how often we refer to normal behavior as a mental disorder? I like to say, “That’s insane!” when I hear a funny story. The humor is not, “...seriously mentally ill,” but calling it insane is fun. Unless you call something insane in front of an insane person who takes offense, it is probably no big deal. Another example is pairing the word “addiction” with things we like. Most of these exaggerations are light-hearted ways to make fun of the quirky preferences that make us unique. There is one type of preference, however, that can be a superpower, but for some reason we make fun of it. You have probably heard it called OCD.
Real OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) is when someone cannot stop thinking or doing something to the point of harmful side effects. A textbook example is someone washing their hands every five minutes because they cannot stop thinking about germs. In an extreme case, that person might lose their job because they are unable to get anything done. Real OCD is much more serious than being picky about how a desk is organized or how a bed gets made. Pickiness can be hard to deal with, so we water it down with a dash of humorous exaggeration. I used to do it all of the time.
My dad has been a fence contractor for most of my life, and a really good one. I vividly remember a long week in July of 2017 helping him build a fence in the mountains near Prairie City, Oregon. Dad and two other family members would unroll and stretch the barbed wire before pounding T-posts into the ground. I would then clip the wires to the T-posts before stapling wood posts onto the fence in-between each steel one.
Clipping wires to T-posts was simple– take a clip out of the bag, hook it to the wire on the left side of the post, wrap it around the back of the post, and then use a screwdriver to bend the clip around the wire on the right side of the post. The posts had pegs, so once the top wire’s height was set, I could count the pegs to figure out where the rest went. It was monotonous, but much better than stapling wood posts onto the fence.
Fence staples are more like u-shaped nails than what goes into a desk stapler. I drove four of them into each wood post (one per wire), and there were probably several hundred wood posts per mile of fence. At age fourteen, swinging the hammer blistered my soft hands within hours. I was also just short enough to make the job more difficult. The easiest method was holding the post against the wires with my left leg, then reaching over the fence to pound each staple into the backside of the post. Since I was a hair too short, the top wire frequently poked me in the armpit.
At the end of the second day of clipping and stapling, my dad drove back down the fenceline to check my work. Hot, tired, and covered in barbed-wire scratches, I was excited for him to see the final product. The excitement faded when he measured a random T-post with a tape measure. The top wire was a few inches too low. He moved to another T-post to find the top wire placed a few inches too high. Both top wire heights caused the other three wires to be incorrect as well. Looking down the fenceline, there were dozens of misplaced topwires. We spent two hours that evening correcting my work.
I thought it was a waste of time. The fence was up, wires tight, with wood posts between the steel ones to make it stronger. No cow in their right mind would try to go over it, so I did not understand why we took the time to make the wire spacing perfect. Dad told me it had to look good and measure correctly to pass a Forest Service inspection and make the ranchers happy. I thought everyone involved– the Forest Service, the ranchers, and my dad were “acting OCD.”
This thought was common when I worked with my dad. He wanted finished products to look awesome while I neglected the minor details, so we would get frustrated. Later in high school, I remember being asked why I chose to farm during the summer instead of building fence with my dad. My response was often, “I love my dad but he’s a little bit too OCD when it comes to builidng fence.” Meanwhile, his customers loved, and continue to love his work. My dad’s biggest problem as a contractor has always been having too many jobs and too little time to complete them all.
It took years to get over my ego, but once I did it became clear my dad’s “OCD” is why his customers love his work. Their hard-earned money goes towards a product that looks amazing and will last for decades. Doing amazing work is also a form of free advertising. When a rancher in need of a fence drives by a beautiful one on the side of the road, they are going to find out who built it and give them a call. It is no wonder he always has so many jobs lined up. My dad is not nitpicky, nor does he have OCD– he just has high standards. That is a good thing.
If you know any successful business owner, you know there is something they hold to high standards. Within the first few weeks of joining Red Dirt CrossFit, I saw it in the owners, Matt and Wendy. One day we had all eight rowers out for a workout. After class was over and everyone had put their rowers away in the corner, Matt pulled them all out again to put them back more neatly. Meanwhile, Wendy made sure all of the dumbbells were placed on the rack with their weights showing in ascending order. Most people would have said, “The rowers are in the corner and the dumbbells are on the rack. Let’s call it a day!” Matt and Wendy, however, know the power of high standards. Potential members are more likely to join a perfectly tidy gym than a slightly messy one. That is why their membership continues to grow.
There might be some truth in saying my dad, Matt, Wendy, and others like them are obsessive about the minor details of their work as the “OCD” label implies, but that is not a bad thing. To be good at something you have to be a little obsessed. Was Michael Jordan not obsessed with basketball? Do you think Elon is not obsessed with rockets and electric cars? No matter the size of the venture, it takes an unusual level of caring to be successful. The same applies to building a successful life, no matter how you define it.
In the same way that holding little things to high standards in a business pays off, holding little things in daily life to high standards is a powerful way to improve it. Admiral William H. McRaven popularized this idea in his book Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World. Navy Seal training taught McRaven that small wins create big wins, discipline breeds success, and taking pride in small things that one can control makes life better when the going gets tough. I highly recommend everyone watch his viral speech that eventually turned into the book.
Although the saying, “Do the little things right and the big ones will fall into place,” is true, it is hard to imagine what that means practically. How could having an organized closet help you get a good job?
Say you start folding and organizing laundry after every load, no matter what. In doing so, you save a few extra minutes getting dressed every morning because you don’t have to rummage through piles of clothes. You feel less rushed to get to work or school, maybe even slightly better rested from a few more minutes of beauty sleep. When an exciting job interview comes along, there is no risk of oversleeping, wasting time rummaging for the right pants, or not having time to prep before the interview. You can wake up at your normal time, leave a few minutes early, gather your thoughts, and then rock the interview. A little stressor like digging for clothes is not always a big deal, but holding your closet to a high standard is a surefire way to never make it an issue.
It is easier for some people to hold little things to high standards than others. I do not mind putting clothes away at all, but my fiancé loathes hanging things up. However, when it is done, she never regrets taking the time to do it– especially when she is trying to get to the gym at 7:00 a.m.
If you are someone who has a hard time with the little things, that is okay. There is a common misconception that holding little things to high standards means everything has to be perfect, but that simply is not true. My dad makes sure every wire he clips is at the perfect height, but his pickup looks like a pig pen inside. Holding every little detail to a high standard is exhausting and makes life feel like a prison. It’s important to know which little things matter.
Below is a list of little things that can be easy to sweep under the rug, as well as their benefits. Think about which items, despite being small, could make the biggest difference in your day-to-day life. It is also important to consider which items you are most likely to sustainably hold to a high standard. It is one thing to put the laundry away for a few days, it is another to fold every load every time. Here is the list:
Making the bed every morning (start every day with a completed task)
Folding and organizing laundry after every load (save time getting dressed)
Ending each day with no dirty dishes (one less thing to think about in the morning)
Keeping the fuel gauge above half full (will save time when running late on E)
Flossing every evening (fewer dentist bills, cleaner look when it matters)
Keeping a full water bottle (no more feeling dehydrated after it’s too late)
Unsubscribing/Deleting junk emails (less distractions from important ones)
Organizing couch pillows and throw blankets (creates a feeling of order)
Waking up at the same time every day (better quality sleep + less need for alarm)
Maintaining a grocery list (spend less time shopping + prevent impulse buys)
Going to bed at the same time every night (better quality sleep + more alertness)
Tracking income and expenses at the end of each month (can guide future spending decisions)
I challenge you to pick one or two items to work on for a week. See what habits you will be able to stick to. Remember, little actions don’t add up over time, they compound. Over time you will get more disciplined, maybe even holding other little things to a higher standard. Never be ashamed for your “OCD,” because when a big day comes, it could be your superpower.