Do you trust yourself? When you say you’re going to do something, do you know without a doubt that you’ll get it done? For me, for a very long time, my answer to that would be “no”.
Let me clarify that. My answer to that question would be, “I trust myself to quit. I trust myself to start something and not finish it. I trust myself to have really good intentions and not follow through. I trust myself to not make me a priority in my life. I trust myself to make excuses, especially when things get difficult.”
So now what?
If you think about this question and your answer is similar to mine, I want you to take a minute and realize that there is a lot of self-judgement in that. Not to say that it’s not warranted, but you’re limiting yourself before you even get out of the starting blocks. When you find yourself in that place of distrust, take a deep breath. Or 5. Realize that you can change your behaviors at any time. At any age. On any day. It doesn’t have to be the start of a month or a Monday or a full moon. ANY time!
First, I want you to think about the situations that you went into with good intentions but didn’t follow through on. What was going on in your life at that point? Was there something unique about that experience? How can you learn from that? It’s likely you didn’t know any better, especially if you were young. Dig in as much as you’re comfortable to figure that out.
Next, move into a place where you begin to consciously trust yourself. It won’t be easy if your tendency is to jump in all excited and then jump ship when things get difficult. You’re committed, you’re focused, you’re motivated. Then something comes up that’s a trigger for you. Something emotional, business travel, vacation, super stressful day, death in the family — any number of those things can come up. At any point, you can decide you want to start new.
Prove yourself wrong
Although it may not come easy, you have to give yourself the opportunity to grow. Allow yourself the chance to do something different than you might normally do. Like remain committed and push through when the struggles come up. Give yourself a couple of days if you need it, but ease your way back in.
Do you trust yourself to do that? If you don’t, you’re setting yourself up for failure from the get-go because you don’t believe in your ability. Give yourself the benefit of the doubt and a little leeway. Forgive yourself for the times when you didn’t keep your word to yourself in the past. Know that you can make a change in that at any time, on any day. And then DO THAT! Figure out how you want to approach it differently so you can trust yourself again.
Time for a another chance
Lastly, you have to allow for a second chance. Heck–a 27th chance if you need it! You deserve it! And, you only get one YOU for this lifetime.
You’re not reading this because you’ve given up. You’re reading this because you want to learn how to move forward. That 27th chance is a great way to do that!
Trust that you will do things differently, take action every day, and be gracious and forgiving of yourself as you go along the way. It’s not easy being a human! Things will come up. But trust that you will be able to work through it. You got this!
