1 More Day… to Keep Your Promise

Every year I choose one word to focus on during the year. It is more than a New Year’s Resolution - it is a word that takes me on a journey throughout the entire year. The word usually starts out focusing on one area of my life but permeates through my heart and is felt in every area. I have had words like warrior, peace, love, restore and more. Usually by February, I have a clear understanding of how my life needed a dose of that word. .

My 2018 word is Promise. I must admit that I have not experienced the depth of the actual word “promise” for months. Instead I thought I was supposed to remind myself of God’s promises throughout the Bible. I had been focusing on the actual promises instead of the word “promise.” I almost completed my year missing the most important lesson of my word.

A few days ago I read a chapter from Rachel Hollis’ Girl, Wash Your Face where she shares her struggle with giving up. She writes, “We talk about the things we’d like to do, be, try, accomplish, but once we get to the moment of actually doing it, we fold faster than a card table after bunco night.” We set goals for ourselves and dream big dreams but then life happens and the promises we made to ourselves hold very little power.

We fight hard to keep the promises we make to others but quickly cancel on ourselves. We all know an Excusing Elaine who makes plans but always cancels. Or the friend who announces a new diet every few weeks but quickly gives up when the dessert tray passes by the table. We do not trust those people’s level of commitment. Ever thought that the same applies to us?

“If you constantly make and break promises to yourself, you’re not making promises at all. You’re talking.”

When things get tough, we quit. We focus on the things that we know we can do. We go back to what is comfortable…and dreams quietly die.

I would describe myself as a pretty dependable person. If I tell you I am going to do something, you can pretty much take that to the bank. However, that is not true when it comes to the promises I make to myself, I have never in my life successfully stuck to any kind of diet, writing, you name it without quitting or “cheating” a few times.

For my 50th birthday, I wanted to be in the best shape of my life. I committed to getting to the body fat percentage of an athlete - not because I wanted to look like a supermodel but because I wanted to live an active, healthy lifestyle for years to come. I worked out hard and followed my nutritionist strategic plan. Well almost. I cheated here and there, thinking it would not do any harm. But it did - because I broke a promise to myself. And one broken promise lead to another. I did not meet my goal - I came within 2 percentage points. Was it a big accomplishment? Yes! But did I cheat myself? Yes!

So I thought - what if I pick one thing and really see it through?

Hollis writes, “I know that blowing off a workout, a date, an afternoon to organize your closet, or some previous commitment to yourself doesn’t seem like a big deal - but it is. It is a really big deal. Our words have power, but our actions shape our lives.”

It is time to change our patterns of behavior. Rachel shared that she established one rule in her life - She would no longer break a promise to herself no matter how small it was. And for her, it was a Diet Coke. She started by giving it up for thirty days which turned into four years now. She shares establishing success in this one small area made her realize that the only thing standing between her and achieving her goals is her ability to build on her past success.

So what about you? What if you choose today not to break another promise to yourself? You will force yourself to slow down. You will be intentional. You will slow down and think things through. You won’t just talk about a goal, you will plan how you will meet it.

“You’ll teach yourself a new way to behave and set a standard for the type of person you truly are - not the one you’ve dreamed about becoming, but who you practice being every single day.”

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”