Keep the Promises you Make to Yourself to Choose Happiness
Promising to love and cherish!
Do you ever say you are going to do something and not follow through?
I bet if you are like me, you make a promise or say you are going to do something for someone and you have impeccable follow-through. I hate to commit and then have to take it back. Or worse still, forget and have to apologize later.
But what about you? What about the promises you make to yourself? Do you always keep them?
Recently I’ve been battling with an exercise regime. I keep getting started and things go well for a few days. However, there comes a point where I find myself letting other things get in my way. For example, just this morning I was going to head out on a run and I realized I’d booked a Facial Reflexology session…so deciding I couldn’t take too much time out of my work day…guess which one I chose to cancel?
LOL! You’ve got it! I didn’t go for the run.
I was lying on the table having my face kneaded, prodded and poked. Quietly purring in contentment as the Reflexologist’s fingers massaged away my stress & I started thinking. And it came to me that I am not keeping the promises I make to myself.
And this is not the way to Choose Happiness!
When I got back to the office I took out my daytimer (yes, I’ve got the Google Calendar and all that good stuff, but I love my old-fashioned paper planning best) and I scheduled my runs this week.
I scheduled my runs in just the same manner as I’d make an appointment with a client or a student!
So, how often do you think I cancel out on clients and students? Not too often. Pretty much only if I’m physically ill or unable to get to my clinic or office!!!
I now have my promises to me in writing. I do give myself permission to not run if the same situations occur that would make me cancel a client appointment. Other than that, I’ve found a way to keep this particular promise to myself…to get into a regular exercise routine.
And you know what? I’m Feeling Absolutely Fabulous…both with the exercise and the commitment to me.
What promises that you have made to yourself are you not keeping? Can my story help you find a way to make the changes to Choose Happiness and keep those promises?
And don’t forget, if you’d like some help I’m here, ready, willing and able. I promise I’ll find time for Tea with you…a promise I make to both of us.
love it….much needed to see this
You are so welcome darling! xox
Amen!! I am so good at keeping my commitments to others and yes, this year I’m committing to me and what nourishes me most deeply (which isn’t always the thing that feels best in the moment… like exercise. Or not eating the cupcake.) Big love and happy new year!!!
Thank you darling. Happy New Year and blessings of the season to you and yours. Me First isn’t selfish…it’s common sense…keep committing to you! xox
Oh, but it’s so hard sometimes! And it’s very easy to find lots of valid excuses why we can’t or don’t have to! Perfect time of the year for this reminder when people are making New Years Resolutions without really thinking them through! xox
It appears to me that so many people make resolutions with the intent of breaking them. Setting up that mindset is highly detrimental to our overall well-being. Changing the focus so that we value ourselves is key! Choose Happy!
Sweet! I’ve just started logging my business time in the same manner that I log time spent on client work and it does make me happy. Now I have to stop justifying what is “worth” logging LOL!
Awesome Karen. Put the focus on ‘love’ and take out the sense of chores and worthiness. xox
You know this is my battle cry! My work and my passion is so much about helping women to stop breaking promises to themselves.. I believe it’s a way we break our own hearts among other things.. which of course makes it harder to choose happy. Sometimes it can be about making less promises, taking smaller steps.. which I really think is a good thing.. better than the lousy feeling and the self-judgment that comes when we don’t do the things we planned. For myself and my clients, my general rule of thumb is to make the promise/pledge something that is absolutely comfortable/manageable so that we can keep it.. once momentum builds we can add to it. But taking too big a step is usually a mistake and backfires. This is such a passionate topic for me.. so pardon my strong perspective.. like you I believe in doing what supports us and leads to feeling better and better.
Much love and happy new year..
Lisa
I love the idea of making less promises and taking smaller steps. We are such an impatient culture. Gentle change leads to permanent results! Thank you for sharing and for your fabulous enthusiasm. Cheers! Happy New Year!
Great idea. I know that if I actually plan the exercise, I will do it. And I think if I planned it for mid-day, it will actually improve my afternoons. It’s so much easier to keep commitments that aren’t exercise, but if they are planned, I won’t have a choice!
I hear you Amanda. One of the best suggestions I have for you is to find something that involves moving your body that you love to do. We often get stuck in the notion that we ‘have to exercise’ and it becomes a chore. But there are loads of ways to move and get the exercise we want. Have you considered dance classes, fencing, horseback riding? Think outside the box and find something that’s fun and it stops being a chore and becomes a hobby 😉
I find that the biggest factor in my keeping promises to myself is that I have to really be on board with doing it- rather than it being something I think I should do. If the alignment is there, it’s easy for me to keep my promise. If not, I tend to bag out.
I actually don’t make promises very often- to myself or other people because I know they are not my strong suit. That doesn’t mean I’m not trust worthy…..I just don’t promise anything unless i’m 100% sure I can deliver.
Always 100% … woohoo!!!
Exactly today I’m doing it – cancelling my swim session because of the work appointment, but I know that it’s a temporary glitch while my system adjusts to the big changes I have planned to myself this year. great idea to make promises to yourself in writing, will try it.
How are the promises in writing working out for you?
What a great article Jaqueline! You are sooo right–it’s so easy to keep a promise you make to someone else, but way harder to keep the ones you make to yourself. Ay ay ay! I am all about choosing happy this year, and self-care is so vital! And JUST doing it! That’s often the proverbial hurdle I have to get over! Thank you so much for this reminder and kick in the pantaloons! And, you inspired me with your reflexology session–I just added it to my list of things I want to do in 2013!! P.S. I LOVE your “Tea for Two” consultation!!! 🙂 YAY!!!!