I promised myself that I was going to start writing more. Promised to myself that I would post to the blog more. I’ve been doing better than I have previously but not quite where I want to be. I was lamenting this to a friend this morning and talking about the difficulty I had of finding a weekly post, let alone a daily one. At that moment, I was inspired. I realized that it was more important for me to keep the promise to myself than it was to focus on the obstacles.
After all, keeping a promise you’ve made to yourself is a boost to your confidence whereas letting yourself down or breaking your own promise can pull you under. It all starts with you. It starts with today. You promised yourself that you weren’t going to go back to that piece of shit person and that they didn’t deserve to be in your life. You promised yourself that you were going to eat better and go to the gym. Now, you feel horrible about having a few slices of pizza (my favorite food). Or going out with that particular person again. You’re not hurting anyone but yourself by breaking those promises and yourself needs to matter to you in the end. Self-care is not selfish. Even if you’re a parent and your kids are the world to you, they need you to take care of and keep promises to yourself. Believe it or not, how you treat yourself can impact how they learn to treat themselves. I know it’s difficult but it’s important to acknowledge and remember that you can make things worse when you break your self promises. This doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to keep every promise you make but you should know if your commitments are true to yourself or whether they’re wishful thinking.
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Isn’t that what they say? Keep the commitments you make to yourself reasonable and achievable. Don’t set yourself up to fail. This goes back to previous posts I’ve made where I’ve mentioned small wins and the importance of building momentum. You don’t have to lose 100 pounds in a month. Actually, it would probably be incredibly difficult or dangerous to do and, if you tried, you would be setting yourself up for failure. That’s not the point here. The point is to make a commitment, a promise, to yourself that is challenging but achievable. Something you can feel good about accomplishing. Maybe it starts with a walk around the block, taking the stairs instead of the elevator or eating half of your restaurant meal and taking the rest home for later. Books are written line by line. Word by word. Same goes for blog posts. These are small steps towards a bigger goal but they start with a promise to get started. A promise to sit down and dedicate time to something. Even if it’s not ultimately productive or satisfying at first (only writing a sentence or doing 10 push-ups), your continued commitment will lead to momentum. Starting with small promises or commitments might serve you better.
All you can control is your own actions and responses. Be honest about what you want in life and make them into commitments. Keep those promises you make to yourself. Continue winning.
Life Resumed 