
Have you ever made a promise to yourself but for whatever reason you didn’t keep it?
If so, don’t feel too bad you aren’t alone. I know that’s something that I am working on getting stronger at. This is an idea that if grasped and put into practice could really change your life. You see we make and go out of our way to keep promises for others but when it comes to keeping them for ourselves we don’t put in the same effort.
Think about it like this. When you were a kid or even now and someone promises you they are going to do something, and they always come up with an excuse as to why they aren’t able to keep their promise. After so many times of them breaking their promises you stop believing them. Well that’s kind of what we do to ourselves every time we make a promise to ourselves and don’t keep it.
It’s like this thing my son is always talking about in basketball called muscle memory. Which is essentially doing the same repetition over and over until you can do it by memory or it’s second nature. So every time we give an excuse and break a promise to ourselves we are in training. We are training our minds that excuses are ok. Don’t get me wrong I know we don’t intentionally break promises. It’s because we don’t have time, are exhausted, over committed or just simply don’t feel like doing it. Just think of what would happen if you made your promises and kept them. How much would you accomplish and where would your life be. Would you have lost that weight, would you be debt free, would your business be up and running? What is it that your excuses and promise breaking have been keeping you from?
I know for me I would be so much farther along had I kept the promises I made to myself, but let’s not focus on the past and what we didn’t do. Let’s focus on the future and where we’re going to, and make a commitment to keep the promises we make going forward. The way we do that is by:
1. Making realistic promises– No I don’t mean making promises out of fear either, you know the ones you make because you are afraid of what might or might not happen if you give your all, or those driven by those negative what if statements. I mean making heartfelt promises that are going to get you to being your best self.
2. Being committed to the promise– Be committed that you are going to keep the promise by all means. So that means being too tired, over committed or not feeling like it is out of the question. The way that I am learning to get over this is by doing the thing I promised first, if possible. If it’s a promise that requires a throughout the day commitment, maybe getting an accountability partner would be helpful. The way to tackle over commitment is to simply learn how to say no, or start using a calendar. For those who have a real problem saying no using that calendar will hopefully be an easier way to say no, because you can’t give something you don’t have. If your calendar is too full or the appointment time is already taken you just won’t be able to do it. As for not feeling like it, you’ll just have to get over it and do it anyway. Your feelings have nothing to do with this. Your feelings won’t get you to your goal but your consistent actions will.
3. Knowing the outcome of the promise– Knowing that keeping our promises are going to get us to an expected outcome in our lives is a great motivation. It’s the reward at the end of the journey, and on the days when it gets hard and you don’t see the end in sight. Remember why you started and keep going. Keeping the outcome before you as a reminder is also a good source of motivation. Keeping the promise may not be easy but it will be worth it. Not only will you gain your reward you gain the building of your integrity by learning to keep your word to yourself, and in my opinion that’s a reward in itself.
So what promise will you commit to making and keeping? You have it in you to succeed. Always remember you are a Worthy Woman!