The Promise You Make To Yourself

The Promise Made

It feels like a promise I kept to myself.  So read my journal entry a year after leaving my 15 year corporate career and opening my own business.  The promise I had made, however, was not about starting a business.  It was much broader – a simple vow not to settle and to listen to what was prodding me to follow my interests, explore a new venue, and apply my talents in a new way.
 
It wasn’t the first time I had made a promise to myself.  Years earlier and newly single again, I had written down some very distinct promises while contemplating the kind of relationship I desired.  This was not so much about the specific characteristics of an ideal partner (that was a separate list I had going!).  Rather, this promise had to do with staying true to myself. 
 
The impact of both promises was a feeling of peaceful confidence.  Once each promise was made, it was almost as if it had happened already.  I believed myself.

Your Scarlett O'Hara Moment

When you ask, "What do I promise myself?" you go to a deeper level that supersedes logistics.  For instance, “I promise I will take care of my body,” is much more encompassing than saying, “I promise I’ll stick to my diet.”  This kind of deeply felt promise is larger than any one goal and doesn’t necessarily have a time stamp on it.  If it helps to have an image, recall the dramatic scene when Scarlett O’Hara pledged, “If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill... As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again.”  Now she really meant it!
 
Often we hold within ourselves an unspoken promise.  It hasn’t quite traveled the distance from a half-formed wish to a full-fledged promise.  There is a difference. Whatever you desire to introduce into your life, the defining moment is the same.  The defining moment is when you make a promise to yourself to honor your heart’s desire, to go for it, and not settle for less.  

Go On Record

Keeping a promise to yourself is a powerful thing.  First, though, the promise must be made. You must go on record with yourself.  At the time, there will be no guarantee of it coming to fruition.  It’s just a silent promise made to yourself.  It might begin with these words:  I will find a way to…  I am committed to…  I will remember to…

What deeply felt yearning of yours is ready to be expressed?  What do you now commit to honoring?  Even if you don’t know the how and when, what can you promise yourself about how you will approach this desire?

What do you promise yourself?  Go on record and feel it in your bones that you are serious.

“No trumpets sound
when the important decisions
of our life are made. 
Destiny is made known silently.”
— Agnes de Mille

Here's to you,