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dream big my friend

 

 

INSPIRING LIFE SCHOOL PODCAST

EPISODE  32 – DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL DO

 

 

dream big my friend podcast

 

 

 

INSPIRING LIFE SCHOOL PODCAST

EPISODE 32 TRANSCRIPT:

DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL DO

 

  

WELCOME TO THIS EPISODE WHICH IS ALL ABOUT DOING WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL DO

 

 

Now as I mentioned in the last episode – in the lead up to the New Year I will be recording shorter pep talk episodes as I know this time of the year is busy and that way it will be easier for you to consume shorter episodes.

But my goal is to make them as valuable as possible because time is precious right?

I want you to walk away from this episode feeling as if something has shifted in you and that this shift will help you do better in life. 

 

So let’s talk about honoring your commitment to yourself which is also known as doing what you say you will do.

 

I want you to think right now about if you have ever had a flaky friend you couldn’t depend on for your dear life.

Maybe they said you guys would catch up at 6pm to go see a movie and five minutes past six she calls you with a sorry excuse about why she can’t make it.

Or maybe she said she would help you out with something but even as she said those words you knew they were shallow and it was never going to happen.

Deep down you love her and know she has the best of intentions but when it comes to things that matter you also know she isn’t dependable and therefore trustworthy. 

 

Now I want you to think about the sort of friend you are to yourself.

 

Do you ever say you will do something and at the very last minute come up with a flaky excuse about why it isn’t possible.

You do your best to justify it with a solid reason, like you can’t go for that walk that you promised yourself you would go on because it’s too cold, you feel too tired, you have something more important to do etcetera.

Or maybe you said you would start that project today but then you pretend that promise never happened, that it wasn’t a big deal, that you can do it tomorrow because you don’t feel like doing it right now and sort of shrug it off like a flaky friend would do to someone they don’t really care for.

I mean, they say they do but sometimes actions speak louder than words. 

 

When you think a little deeper about it, what would you honestly think and feel about a friend who never keeps their word, who acts as if other people are more important than you, who makes excuses, and can’t really be depended on.

 

And now my big question to you is this: what sort of friend are you to yourself?

If you always do what you say you will do then that’s fantastic but many of us have a habit of breaking promises and commitments we have made with ourselves and then acting as if it doesn’t really matter when it does.

Do you know why it matters?

Because you matter.

You may think your little soul will forgive you for breaking commitment after commitment and promise after promise but deep down you may feel disappointed in yourself for not following through on what you said you would do. 

 

I want to offer you a strategy here today that will help you stick to your word because even though it must not seem like a big deal – breaking a commitment that you casually made to yourself, the truth is these actions do impact the way you feel about yourself, especially if it happens over and over again.

 

Ideally we want to feel like we have our own back, that we do things that serve as well and that we honor the commitments we make to ourselves because we deserve that from ourselves. 

If you know you won’t do something it is way better to just say you don’t plan to do it. 

Be honest with yourself – nope I am not interested, nope that isn’t for me right now, nope I don’t want to, rather than saying you will and then just pretending you never said those words.

However if you do want to make changes in any area of your life – whether it is with your health or finances or business or with your family, the best place to start is meeting yourself where you are at right now and making a commitment that you are 80% confident that you will be able to meet.

Of course 100% confident is even better but I always think it is better to be realistic in life as opposed to all or nothing and 80% or better is a good number to aim for.

So let me demonstrate how this could work for you with some real life examples.

Let’s just say you have a weight loss  goal and you initially said you would exercise for an hour every day this week and on day 1 you already were backing out of this agreement, saying NAH CAN’T DO IT SORRY!

 

 

What was I even thinking agreeing to this crazy idea of yours…well if you were meeting yourself where you are at there’s a good chance you would never have made this lofty commitment with yourself if you can’t even remember the last time you wore your joggers.

 

Instead you might set a goal like tomorrow I will find my joggers and walk down the block once.

Or if even that is too much for you, you might say I will find my joggers and wear them around the house. 

I know that might sound crazy to you but if you make that promise to yourself and then the next day you put on those joggers and walk around the house, you are actually showing yourself that YOU DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL DO, even with the small stuff.

 

Treat yourself like you would your own BFF my friend.

 

It is okay to set just baby goals that you are 80% confident that you can meet.

Set lots of them, one after the other.

Remember 80% confident baby steps means you are pretty sure you can do it with ease or without too much struggle as opposed to some goals that we set that are more like 10%-20% likely to happen. 

 

Like let’s just say if you are trying to eat healthier rather than saying today I will eat no sugar, no bread, no junk, and stop eating after 7pm or something else restrictive I encourage you to just pick ONE THING that you are confident you can stick to.

Like maybe you can stick to ditching sugar for one day if you can have everything else or maybe you can commit to intermittent fasting if nothing else is off the table during your eating time.

PICK ONE THING and nail it, even if it is the tiniest little step like writing two lines of your new book, or sending one email promoting your business or spending five minutes chatting to your child about their day or five minutes writing in your journal.

 

 

I promise you, baby steps have totally transformed my life because baby steps like much like the tortoise in the Tortoise and hare fable…when you keep moving you will eventually get to your goal in the end. 

 

And we do this by keeping our promises to ourselves.

This is why I think it’s so important to do what you say you will do because in life you need to know that you can depend on yourself.

Your promises don’t mean anything but your commitment to yourself does.

Commitment means staying loyal to what you said you were going to do long after the mood has left you.

So don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep.

 

Keep your word even when it isn’t convenient but don’t set yourself up for failure.

 

That is why I recommend baby steps and meeting yourself where you are at.

If you can’t do something or don’t want to do it and have no intention of even trying, just be honest and say NOPE self, that won’t be happening but here’s what I can do instead.

You will trust and honor and respect yourself more when you keep your word so go for the 80% possible tasks and do what you say you will do.

I hope this little pep talk has been helpful. If you want me to dive deeper into any of these shorter episodes just let me know and I’m sure I can revisit any of these topics in the future.

But for now, take care and as always I just want you guys to know that I love and respect you all and can’t wait to catch you in the next episode.

 

 

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