Breaking Promises to Yourself

The book that the family is reading as our first official family book is Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens.  Some of the text is obsolete in it's application to this 33 year old, but some of the principals still ring true.  (That couldn't have anything to do with how this book parallels that other seven habits book, but nonetheless.)

The chapter we're working on this week talks a bit about breaking promises to yourself.  Saying things like "Oh, I'm definitely getting up early tomorrow morning to get my workout done," but then when that alarm clock goes off at o'dark thirty - snoozing (several) times or even just resetting it to a less obscene time.

I break promises to myself a lot.

• I'm going to get up early and get my workout done.
• I'm going to drink enough water today.
• I'm going to work on cleaning out my closet.

The list could go on (and on.)  Often, I allow laziness or excuses to get in the way.  The bed is warm.  The pillow is soft.  I have a headache coming on, so I need caffeine instead of water.  I just want to watch (this) show and then I'll work on the closet.   If you've got one excuse, you've got a million.

So, this morning, the alarm went off at 5:20.  (It was only a 9-minute time trial run.  It wasn't going to take that long.)   But, I inevitably hit the snooze button (twice.)  During that second snooze, I began to think about what I'd read the night before - about breaking promises to myself.  And, how staying in bed instead of getting up and taking care of my 9 minute run...that was me perpetuating the problem.

So, I got up.  Twenty minutes later than planned, but a step in the right direction.  I did my 9-minute time trial.  Gasping for air afterward, I felt good.  Proud.  Accomplished.  Not because I ran and pushed myself harder than I would normally push myself, but because I kept a promise to myself.