How good are you at keeping promises to yourself?
I'm the worst.
You'd think that by now when we get invited for an early round of golf on a Sunday morning, I'd have an automatic response, "Gee thanks for asking but I promised myself we'd make the early service at church."
Do I say that? You betcha I don't.
I ignore my inner promise and let my husband decide, "Charlie, what do you want to do, church or golf?"
Why is it so easy to break promises to myself...ones that I wouldn't dream of breaking for others?
I'm sincere about my promises, until something better comes along. More times than I'd like to admit, I've promised myself I would:
- Exercise every other morning
- Blog 3X a week
- Not put off dental appointments
- Read more non-fiction
- Start volunteering
You get the picture — I know I'm not alone in making and breaking promises to myself.
Now, if I make a promise to someone else, there would be no way I'd break it. After all, I live by a moral compass!
But here's three reasons why I think it's easy to break promises to myself:
- I make too many of them.
- I'm really good at forgiving myself if I break a promise. "No big deal. Start again tomorrow."
- I don't like schedules.
Eventually I get around to keeping most of the promises I make myself. But I don't call them promises anymore. That's a pretty heavy word that puts an obiligation or responsibility square on my shoulders. All of which I'd do for someone else.
I decided to rename my inner promises "giving myself a treat" because that's doing something nice for myself. It's a reward. A gift. A happy thing.
And not only is treat a fun word, when you're doing something nice for yourself it's easier to turn it into a healthy habit, a gift of time, or a commitment for helping others.
My "treats" are easy to keep because they make me feel good.
What treats would you like to make to yourself?
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