241: How To Stop Breaking Promises You’ve Made To Yourself

Oct 8, 2016

Do you find yourself making promises to eat healthy or workout, only to talk yourself out of it hours or days later? I used to do that all the time & it left me feeling frustrated and prevented me from making the progress I wanted desperately!

In today’s episode I want to help you stop breaking promises you’ve made to yourself!

You cannot reach your goals if you are constantly talking yourself out of taking the steps to achieve them. Every choice you make leads you somewhere, either closer to or further from your goals.

To get the details on the challenge I’ve given myself to take 45 yoga classes in 45 days and all I’ve learned from it, click here to listen to episodes 235 and 239.

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How to Stop Breaking Promises You Make To Yourself

I’m not super hero. Though I have committed to 45 yoga classes in 45 days, I certainly don’t want to go everyday. Heck, I don’t want to go most days. But, how to battle those feelings? How do you shut down your attempts to make excuses and not do the work you said you would?

Your goals don’t make you a hero. Your intentions don’t create results.

It’s not what you intend that matters – it’s what you do.

It’s not what you do when you’re motivated that counts, it’s what you do when you aren’t motivated that makes all the difference.

Doing the work is the ONLY thing that gets you to your goals.

So, how do you respond when you start talking yourself out of the work?

Don’t use logic to sabotage yourself

The most dangerous thing we can do is to use logic to talk ourselves out of our goals. Sometimes this logic is valid, and sometimes the logic is faulty or a flat out lie.

Either way, you’re talking yourself out of moving towards something you want.

No bueno. That won’t get you there.

So how do we stop breaking our promises? So how do we stop making excuses?

Get brutally honest with yourself and stop justifying quitting.

Don’t let your beautiful brain hold you back

If you allow your mind to consider all the reasons you shouldn’t do the work, you’ll always find plenty of them.

Don’t do that.

Instead, challenge yourself to identify what work you CAN do.

Your brain is there to help you, to become an ally to your goals. Use your brain to talk yourself into your goals and consistency. Use your brain to talk yourself into what you CAN DO.

Do not let the present moment be the only moment you consider

Ask yourself, at the end of the day, what decision will make me the most happy? Don’t make your decisions based on what will make you happy in the present moment, rather, bring your attention to how you’ll feel later.

Step back and ask yourself why you made the promise in the first place. Remember the reasoning behind the decision and understand that your choices now do matter, even the little choices.

Keep your decisions aligned with the logic behind the promises you made to yourself.

Create your foundation first

Your first step needs to be creating a solid foundation. Often times we only focus on the outcome, but without the foundation our efforts can be in vain and we will only increase frustration.

When you skip steps, you find yourself working hard without getting the results you want.

Your foundation needs to be unshakeable before you rush around doing everything.

What CAN You do?

The most important thing is to not quit on yourself.

Find your reasoning for making the promise in the first place. Don’t let excuses, even valid ones, steer you away from your ultimate goals. Use your beautiful brain to keep your body and actions in check!

Resources

Episode 235: Yoga for Fat Loss, Fitness, Mindset & Crushing Life

Episode 239: Improving Your Responses, Setting Expectations & Comparison

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