I have "high standards" but are they high or impossible? Analyze my standards: in relationships, career, friendships, self, appearance, achievement. Then reality-check each one: is this high or unrealistic? Map every standard and test it: would I meet this standard? Do I know anyone who meets it? Has anyone ever met it? Then expose: what if my "high standards" are just my defense mechanism? What if I set impossible standards so I never have to risk anything? Show me where standards protect me: from intimacy (no one's good enough), from trying (I won't measure up), from success (the bar's too high), or from being vulnerable (I can stay alone and call it standards). Reveal the difference: high standards push you toward quality; impossible standards protect you from risk. Include: whether my standards are serving me or protecting me, what I'm avoiding by having standards no one can meet, and if I want excellence or just want an excuse.