The StoWicks Conversations
by
Carolyn and Seth Wicks
Today's Key Points:
- This Starts With You
- You Need The Right People
- Be Honest, Not Nice
Carolyn: Every Sunday, Seth and I sit down for our weekly 1v1, and one of the reminders we come back to often is: high expectations and high support. It’s no secret that both of us are ambitious. We have big goals, big dreams, and high standards for the lives we want to build. But pursuing those things without the support of the people who matter most would make the journey far more difficult than it needs to be.
We all need people in our lives who believe in our potential, tell us the truth, and help keep us going when motivation just isn't there. Expectations without support can feel lonely and exhausting and on the flip side, support without expectations can leave you too comfortable to grow at all. It's a balance that creates momentum and helps people become who they’re capable of being.
Seth: The first person responsible for your potential is you. This whole newsletter is pointless if you don’t have high expectations for yourself. If you don’t expect more from yourself, no one else will carry that weight for you.
So start there. Expect a lot from yourself, and build a life that supports those expectations. If you want to get in shape, structure your days around it. If you want financial freedom, track your spending and build your knowledge. Nobody can want more for your life than you do.
Carolyn: That discipline you have for yourself can feel lonely when you’re surrounded by people who mock your growth, question your standards, or benefit from you staying the same. That’s where high support matters. The people who truly care about you remind you who you are when you start to forget. They encourage your efforts, celebrate your wins, and help steady you during hard seasons.
But one of the greatest forms of support is truth. If no one is willing to be honest with you, it becomes easy to stay stuck. Real support is not always gentle, it can sound like accountability, hard conversations, and wake-up calls you didn’t ask for. The people who love you most won’t always tell you what you want to hear or fill you with validation. They’ll tell you what helps you grow.
Because if they didn’t care, they would stay silent. They would let you continue shrinking, settling, and drifting. The people who tell you the truth are often the same people refusing to let you waste potential.
Seth: I talk about 75 Hard a lot, but it really was life changing for this exact reason. Carolyn and I were just dating at the time. Think about that: committing to something like that before you’re even married. What if one of us quit? What if one of us didn’t support the other? What if we broke up?! It was either going to work out or blow up. And at the end of it, we knew we had chosen someone who would raise our standard, not lower it.
Choosing your partner is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. Over time, they will either raise your expectations or quietly pull them down. For us, the “honeymoon phase” isn’t a phase, it’s the result of knowing we can rely on each other to show up, stay disciplined, and push each other forward.
Carolyn: Just like any healthy relationship, one person cannot be doing all the heavy lifting (physically too! Let’s get in the gym and lift those weights, people 😉). The strongest relationships are built when both people know how to lift each other up.
Some seasons, you may be carrying more while your partner rebuilds. Other seasons, you may be the one needing support. And sometimes, both of you are pushing hard together toward something bigger. But no matter the season, the standard remains the same: you should want greatness for each other.
You protect each other’s goals, set the tone on difficult days, and refuse to let temporary feelings lower long-term standards. A healthy relationship should absolutely feel safe, but above all, I believe it should make you stronger.
And I'll say it: if you’re not becoming the strongest version of yourself, it may be time to reevaluate the partnerships in your life.
Seth: Take some time today and look at your circle. Who is helping you grow? Who supports you when things get hard? And equally important, who pulls you away from the person you’re trying to become?
Then ask yourself the same questions. Are you holding yourself to a high standard? Are you supporting your own goals with your actions? Because outside support only works when it’s built on self-respect. Set your standard and build the support. Then surround yourself with people who refuse to let you fall below it.
Carolyn: This week, raise one standard for yourself and strengthen one relationship that helps you grow. Let's make sure that in your life, discipline and support work together.
Seth: On the flip side, ask yourself: who needs more of your support? Who can you encourage, challenge, or hold accountable this week? Help someone rise to their standard.
Both: If this newsletter made you think about your standards or the people in your corner, forward it to someone who has been high support in your life, or someone who needs the reminder to raise their expectations. Growth is better when shared.
See you next week,
Carolyn & Seth
The StoWicks
Quote of the Week:
“Surround yourself only with people who are going to lift you higher.”
Oprah Winfrey
