Setting Your Own Course: Embracing “Me Metric”

At a point in life, being able to walk is the metric that matters. Then, being able to talk. Then, it quickly moved to how many exams you passed with the purpose of getting promoted. Then it was CGPA, and then it was how long it took to get your first job. Soon, it would be how long you were in a role before you got promoted. Then, it would be what level you are on.

Then, being married became a metric, and soon, the number of kids added to it. These metrics are never-ending as you progress and increase in age.

But I think we all know that already. So, let’s go a bit deeper into what might not be obvious. Until a certain point, the metrics that you prioritize and measure are (a) societal driven, (b) nature-driven, and (c) comparison-driven. “My mates are graduating with 2.1, I must have 2.1 at least also.”

“It’s about this age that I should marry,” and you have all sorts of conflicts in your mind if that time passes. “I should be earning this much now.” All these are determined by relative comparison, nature, and societal expectations. However, growth requires that we understand when to graduate from those kinds of metrics. And move on to the “Me Metrics.”

What is the “Me Metric”?

This is the kind of metric that puts YOU into context when setting the expectations for YOU. Our stories are unique, and our circumstances are different, meaning that by default, our metrics should be unique based on our circumstances.

When we move in life based on comparison, nature, and societal induced metrics, it will often lack the nuances of our circumstances, and we end up taking decisions that prioritize now over the longer term.

The “me metric” requires you to slow down, evaluate your current situation, your history, and become extremely self-aware. Your self-awareness drives the kind of expectation and ambition you set for yourself. It’s no longer “I should be this or that because my ‘mates’ are there.” It’s now “I am here because of choices I’ve made so far and the constraints that surrounded me, and I am heading there based on this timeline” (driven by you).

That’s where I want you to be. That’s where I am. And it has brought me great peace. I am inspired by all that I see around me but never envious and never feel left behind. I am me. I love where I am. And I love where I’m headed because I chose it.