Mike DomitrzPresident, Author, and Speaker on Respect, The Center for Respect, Inc. · Author & Speaker on Respect for Schools, Corporations, & the Military since 1990 (has reached

This Is the Psychology Behind Why Students Stop Settling

20 May 2026 · 1 min

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In this motivational segment, speaker Mike Domitrz explains how changing personal standards alters perception, causing people to notice previously overlooked details. He illustrates the effect with a common experience: after purchasing a car, individuals suddenly see the same model everywhere, whereas they never noticed it before. He contrasts this with renting a car, where the phenomenon does not occur, emphasizing that ownership triggers a psychological shift. The core message is that by consciously raising or adjusting one's standards, one can redirect attention from negative aspects to positive opportunities, encouraging a proactive mindset for personal growth.

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If we teach people, hey, there's so many amazing people out there, so many amazing, you just don't want to be with one of the few jerks. Now what happens? Their eyes are looking for the amazing instead of the negative. And some of you go, Mike, it doesn't work like that. It does. I'll prove it to you. How many of you ever bought a car and within an hour you saw the same car on the road? And within the day you saw multiple of the same car on the road? If you've been there, say, been there. Been there. Those cars were there the whole time, but our eyes looked for something different when our standard changed. In seconds of getting ourselves behind the wheel of that new car that we own. 'Cause by the way, when I drive a rental, that never happens. Isn't that wild psychologically? I'm in a different rental car every day. I don't notice that rental car everywhere. It's when you own the car, the psychology takes place. So we can shift standards.