As I make yet a new commitment to myself to live a healthier life, I thought of making and breaking promises made to myself.
As a professional, if I say I will do something or be somewhere, I do whatever it takes to fulfill my obligation.
As a wife, daughter, sister, aunt, etc …, If I say I will do something or be somewhere, I do whatever it takes to fulfill my obligation.
As a friend, if I say I will do something or be somewhere, I do whatever it takes to fulfill my obligation.
I always keep my promises to other people. I would never think of not doing something I promised to do.
So why is it so easy to break promises to myself? Why, if I say I will get up at 5am to exercise, do I argue with myself so often? If I had to get up at 5am for work or a family member or a friend, I would certainly do it. Why, if I say I am going to clean up my eating, do I become so easily tempted to eat a doughnut (which I did not, by the way, this time …)? If a family member or friend was cleaning up their eating for any reason, I would never think of tempting them with something they shouldn’t eat. I would go out of my way to help them avoid certain foods.
Aren’t I worthy of keeping my promises to myself? Of fulfilling obligations to myself? Don’t I matter as much as others?
Just want to say, I really love this post! I think a lot of us can relate. It's something to think about the next time I'm ready to let myself down by over snacking or getting totally derailed from my plan.
SF40, I just wanted to say that I can relate, and I feel your pain.
I am the same way. I am able to be kind and available and attentive and present and giving and reliable to everyone/thing else. I'm working on trying to figure out how to do that for myself as well.
I think it is key to good health in all ways, and one of the things that is missing, and part of the reason I sometimes get stuck.
I haven't found an answer yet, but I'm still working on it. I just wanted to say you are not alone. Hang in there.
I think for me personally it's because
I don't have as much of a consequence
breaking a promise to myself. I break a
promise to myself then I always have the
"there's always another day" attitude. But
if I break a promise to someone else then
that's something they'll always remember
me by (depending on the promise broken,
of course) I always feel a bigger obligation to
keep a promise to others than to myself.
Aren’t I worthy of keeping my promises to myself? Of fulfilling obligations to myself? Don’t I matter as much as others?
I so love your post. Such strong points in those words. It reminds me of something I read once where how we would never think of belittling and attacking a friend or loved ones calling them ugly and horrible but we do it to ourselves everyday so easily.
I am going to save your post so everytime I want to argue with myself I can come back and remind myself I am worthy & deserving of these promises being kept!
Thanks for the comments and support. I wrote this four months ago, but as I renew my efforts to be healthy, I thought it would be good to read again. I decided to post it here because I thought it could benefit others, as well. I am saving the post and your comments because they are good reminders to honor promises to myself.
I battle with this everyday and see no win in sight but I hope to be there and I try to be there for myself everyday. I believe as long as I am trying then I will be there eventually, at least I hope so.
Beautiful post. Reading this, I feel as though it should've been in the back of my mind for quite some time now. I do everything in my power to make everybody else happy. My family, my bosses, my co-workers...everybody, even if it makes me miserable. Though I've questioned this quite a few times, why can't I get out of that?
It's difficult. Nice to hear somebody else address it, though.
keeping promises
