Three Ways to Keep Promises to Yourself - Mature Health Center

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Three Ways to Keep Promises to Yourself

It doesn’t have to be a Lenten goal, a New Year's resolution or a reason-based challenge of any kind for you to make a promise to yourself. More importantly, no matter what the occasion, a promise to yourself is one you should keep, regardless if your focus is personal or professional. Whether you intend to read more books this year or finally take advantage of available health resources and services, stay true to yourself by completing the challenges you establish.

There is no question this is easier said than done, especially when the goals are set by you and the guidelines for achieving them are all of your design. When there is no one else to keep track of your progress or meet you at the finish line, it is easy to slide.

But there are certainly ways you can help yourself keep true to your promises, and they aren't as difficult as you might think. Check out these three:

Make your goals specific: When you promise yourself something, it does no good to be general about it. For example, if you promise yourself to lose weight in 2015, there is not much of a specific standard you are holding yourself to. You need to establish a firm deadline and a specific goal. So if you are trying to lose weight, something more along the lines of "I promise to lose 10 pounds in two months" would be a better goal. Now that you have set a specific and attainable number, whether you reach or don't, you can hold yourself accountable. But if your promise is this clear, your chances of attaining it are better.

Trust yourself: The change you are trying to accomplish doesn't start when your promise is fulfilled, but rather when you make it. You make yourself a promise because you want to change or do something; therefore, you need to trust your instincts and your reasoning. According to business-coaching website Less Ordinary Living, holding yourself accountable for not only your promise, but also your steps to keep it, will help you boost your confidence and keep yourself on the right path day by day. Fulfilling a promise takes dedication, it doesn't just happen. Without trusting in your own skills to accomplish the goal or holding yourself accountable along the way, it will be incredibly difficult to stay true to what you set out to do.

Be healthy: Keeping a promise to yourself is as important as staying true to one you made to another, whether it is a friend, family member or co-worker. When you make a promise to others and don't come through, they will have less faith in you the next time you say you'll do something. You'll then find yourself having to prove to others you can keep your word, rather than them just accepting it the first time. This is true for you also. If you let yourself down, then you'll be hard on yourself and begin to doubt your own abilities. Don't let that happen. Keeping true to promises is healthy for your mind and body. In addition to giving you confidence, it also reaffirms that you can achieve what you set out to do. Don't ever let yourself get to a point where you doubt your own skills or ambitions. Instead, have a healthy, focused mind and achieve what you set out to.

It is easy to get sidetracked in this busy world, and sometimes staying true to what you set out to do can be more of a challenge than you'd like or anticipated. But rely on your skills and achieve your goals, even if you are only doing it for you.


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