In this very moment, as my brain was evaluating which option was going to be the most efficient: preserving physical energy while temporarily postponing the cleaning efforts, cleaning to feel better emotionally, or perhaps finding a way to do both, it suddenly struck me: I just hit one of my minimum standards. In this split second of my life experience, being in the throes of my energy cycle and being on the edge of what I deemed acceptable in my home environment, I saw our interaction with the cyclical nature of existence in a whole new way.

As humans, we are deeply cyclical beings, mirroring the patterns found in nature and experiencing them throughout our bodies, minds, and lives. This planet operates in cycles - may it be the waxing and waning of the moon, the change of the seasons, or the ebb and flow of tides. Within us, our heartbeat, breath, hormones, or circadian rhythms reflect this same inherent balance. Nothing is ever static, either. The sun rises and sets each day. Trees shed leaves in autumn and bloom again in spring. Even the cells in our bodies go through cycles of renewal and decay.

These natural oscillations reflect the same internal movements we experience—sometimes we operate at our highest potential, and sometimes we pull back into stillness, only to spring forward after a full recovery and renewal. Similarly, our habits, personal growth, and expansion operate within a moving range. We each have a minimum standard - a baseline we rarely drop below - and a maximum standard, representing our peak performance or the interpretation of perfection we try to bring forth in life. When we begin to understand our cycles and that they are an inherent part of the human experience, when we see where the edges lie, and how to self-regulate between them, we can navigate lasting transformation with more compassion, clarity, and resilience.

Psychologically, we are wired to operate within a comfort zone. Our brains seek homeostasis, a state of balance in which we function efficiently without unnecessary exertion. However, this balancing point is constantly fluctuating. That's because our environmental settings, interaction with the external world, our needs, energy levels, priorities, responsibilities continually shift - what feels sustainable one moment may overwhelm the next. Remaining in a single state indefinitely, whether high output or deep rest, isn't possible for a dynamic, living system in which we all coexist.

Now let's look at cleanliness again. If you consider yourself a clean person, you will likely have a tolerance level for messiness. A few unwashed dishes or clothes on the floor might be acceptable for some time, but once the chaos crosses a certain threshold, you feel an internal pressure urging you to restore the order. This is your minimum standard at which discomfort forces a corrective action.

On the other hand, there are times when you might find yourself cleaning excessively, tidying every few hours, and striving for an idealized version of order. This is your maximum standard - the highest level of excellence you aspire to before other priorities pull your focus and resources elsewhere. This pattern applies to cleanliness as well as productivity, relationships, health, and personal development. We all have a baseline we won't drop below and an upper limit representing a perfect picture. Of course, there's no actual ceiling to how refined or "perfect" our vision can become (perhaps a topic for another blog), but for the sake of this framework, we'll treat the upper limit as an absolute peak. The power lies in recognizing this personal range, not judging it, but working with it to our advantage.

As humans, we often resist change until our current reality becomes uncomfortable. We may desire growth, but unless our minimum standard starts to feel limiting or unsatisfactory, we may not take any action. This is why raising your minimum standard is key to sustainable transformation: it creates a new level of discomfort - if you fall below it, it pushes you to improve.

Consider someone who wants to develop financial discipline. If their minimum standard is living paycheck to paycheck without savings, they might not feel the urgency to change. However, if they raise their baseline to always have at least a small financial cushion, dipping below that amount becomes uncomfortable, prompting them to manage money more effectively. This concept applies to every and any area of life. When you set a higher baseline for what you will accept, you create an internal push to align with that new standard. Growth stops being a forced struggle and becomes a natural response to your evolving expectations.

Like the tides, we rise and retreat, and like the seasons, we shed and renew. Instead of forcing constant progress, we can choose to embrace our natural cycles—evolving in a way that's both sustainable and intuitive. By understanding our unique rhythms, we gain the power to consciously shape the standards that guide our lives, both when we're at our best and when we need care. The key isn't to wait until life demands change, but to gently raise your standards over time. When we elevate our minimums bit by bit, growth becomes less of a push and more of a sustainable rhythm we learn to trust.

Instead of resisting our fluctuating energy, motivation, and behaviors, we can learn to work with them by:

Accepting that oscillation is natural and does not mean failure. Progress is not linear but rhythmic
Identifying our minimum and maximum standards in different areas of life
Raising our minimum standard gradually so that even our low points align with who we want to be.