It was finally the part of the day I had been waiting for. I had sat through what seemed to be hours of classes that were only followed by more hours of work. When the clock struck five, I gathered my things and rushed out of the door of my office. My friend and I had planned a night out to catch up and I was ecstatic! I spent an hour perfecting my hour and makeup, only to receive the text I was dreading: "Hey. I know this is late notice, but I'm not feeling well. Rain check?"
My excitement came to a sudden halt.
I wanted to be sympathetic – maybe my friend really didn't feel well. But too often when we made plans, I received a similar text. We all have that one friend – the one that seems to never follow through with plans, coming up with excuses and only letting us down. Over time, we begin to lose trust in their word. We stop making plans because we know the inevitable will come.
What if I told you we do the exact same thing too often…to ourselves. With New Year's Resolutions at the forefront of our minds, we have each made a commitment to ourselves to make a change in our lives that will lead us to betterment. My resolution was to read at least one chapter of a book per day for the next year (I'm telling you – this is a feat!) So far, I have managed to succeed and I'm sure you have, too!
Three Red, Green, and Yellow Printer Papers · Free Stock Photo
Let me share with you a frightening statistic: upwards of 80% of all New Year's Resolutions fail by February (U.S. News.)
We often times begin to realize the work and effort it takes to uphold our goals. We tell ourselves we can skip the gym just this one time, we can skip reading just this one time, we can splurge on that Starbucks coffee just this one time.
Sadly just this one time turns into two times, three times, and eventually, we tell ourselves that enough times that we subconsciously begin letting ourselves down. Our goals go to the wayside and soon out of our brains completely. If this was your friend, would you respect her? Trust her? No. So why does it change with ourselves? It doesn't. Over time, we create a sense of distrust with ourselves. We quit upholding our word, not only for our New Year's Resolution but for every promise we make to ourselves.
What will you promise yourself?
Will you promise yourself to go to the gym three times per week or quit splurging on the fancy coffee in an effort to save to pay off debt? You have a fresh beginning, a new year. I challenge you to create a clean slate and begin upholding every promise you make to yourself. Soon, you'll be well on your way to creating a sense of trust in yourself that will allow you to overcome any obstacle or goal you face.
