Episode 42: Stop Breaking Promises You Make to Yourself

<p class="p1">Welcome to episode 42.</p> <p class="p2">Can you keep a promise? I’d say you’re much better at keeping promises to a loved one, friend or colleague than you are keeping them to yourself.</p> <p class="p2">I know I am. If you asked me to write a blog for you or teach a workshop on a topic you are passionate about or talk to a few friends about your services and how you can help them – and I promised to do that for you - come hell or high water, you bet I would get it done <em>for you</em>.</p> <p class="p2">So why does the buck stop as soon as we start embarking on doing it for ourselves?</p> <p class="p2">You tell yourself you’re going to launch a course, publish an article on LinkedIn, or produce a podcast, then somewhere along the line you start negotiating your way out of it.</p> <p class="p2">Instead of launching a course, you sign up for a course to teach you how to launch one.</p> <p class="p2">Instead of publishing an article on Linked In, you stare at your blank Word or Google Doc, and sense a hungry pang jolting through your belly.<span class= "Apple-converted-space"> </span> Moments later you’re meandering through the pantry.<span class= "Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p2">Or better yet, you’ve got some research to do on your topic, so you’re surfing the web, gathering data, ideas and now have an even bigger list of topics you could write about.</p> <p class="p2">Your time block has come to an end. You’ve got to get on to more pressing things and you promise to try to get some writing done next week.</p> <p class="p2">What’s happening?<span class= "Apple-converted-space"> </span> Your promises started with such zest and zeal.<span class= "Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p2">A commitment that you didn’t think would dissipate so quickly into the abyss of the many other empty promises you’ve made to yourself in the past.</p> <p class="p2">The promises you make to yourself are the most important ones you are making. When you break them, you short-change yourself an