Most of us are much better at keeping promises we make to others than we are at keeping promises to ourselves. For example, how often have you promised yourself you would save money, lose weight, change bad habits, start exercising, etc.? You’ve likely made thousands of promises to yourself and broken the majority of them. Do you know the consequences of broken promises?
Let me ask you something, can you trust yourself? You do this every day: it can be as simple as the good old classic “I will start dieting on Monday” or “I will just watch an episode of my favorite series, and then I will go to sleep.” And when the time comes, you make a new deal with yourself instead of committing to your initial agreement. What would you think of someone that made promises to you and broke them regularly? Would you date that person or call them your friend for a long?
Not keeping the promises you make to yourself has consequences:
- You’re teaching yourself that you don’t have to take yourself seriously.
- You’re implicitly teaching yourself that letting yourself down is okay.
- You are paying the price of breaking trust!
What happens when you break an agreement you made with yourself? Your self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-respect all decrease. On the other hand, your self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-respect will increase when you keep your agreements.
Are you struggling with your self-esteem? Try to start keeping your agreements. Personally, this was one of the most powerful teachings I got in my development journey. Trusting and believing in yourself is crucial. After all, who can you trust if you can’t trust yourself?
Here are some techniques to help keep your promises to yourself and add integrity to every part of your life:
– Use your past as a reference. If you’ve promised yourself that you would lose 10 kg but came up short, it might be better to set a more reasonable goal. Losing 5 kilograms twice is the same as losing 10 kg at once. Make reasonable promises to yourself.
– Put your promises on paper. Thoughts are a funny thing. They feel real, but they sort of don’t. Writing them down is more concrete. Keep your written promises where you can see them regularly. Review them a couple of times each day.
– Ask yourself if you mean it and listen to the answer. Down deep, you know if you’re serious about your promises. So after you make a promise to yourself, ask yourself if you mean it. Listen to the answer you receive and respect it. If you’re not going to honor this commitment you made to yourself, make another one.
– Ask yourself, some part of you believes it’s okay to let yourself down. If you think you matter as much as everyone else, this attitude won’t be acceptable to you. Change your beliefs.
Keeping promises to yourself is generally more critical than others, yet we tend to approach life from the opposite perspective. The damage you do to your relationship with yourself affects every part of your life.
Treat yourself like you matter and respect the promises you make to yourself. The integrity you build with yourself will make you better at keeping all of the promises you make. It will expand into everything you do.
