Today’s Thought: We must live in integrity to our Self, first and foremost. If we cannot trust we will follow through when it comes to our own interest, it impacts our ability to trust in another, or to participate fully in relationship with others.
It happens quite unintentionally. We tell ourselves, “I’ll clean the garage on Saturday,” but then the sun is shining, friends are calling, or other tasks arise. Or maybe you will, “do laundry tonight,” but you’re exhausted and figure you can always do it tomorrow.
While these sound like little things that don’t really matter that much, the truth is, they do. Slowly but surely you will come to know on a deep subconscious level that you don’t really mean what you say. Soon, when you say you are going to lose 10 lbs, or quit biting your nails, or get up early to work out, your subconscious mind knows you don’t mean it. All things become more difficult for you to do, because your body and mind don’t put stock in what you say.
You begin to experience a low, constant gnawing sense of unease that you can’t quite put your finger on. That is your inner self struggling with the knowledge that you can’t be relied on when it comes to you, and wondering how then you can be there for others. Worse, you may begin to doubt somewhere within, whether you can rely on anyone. The logic is simple: you can’t rely on yourself, how can anyone else ever care as much as you do? What a lonely and frightening way to live.
This is living out of integrity to Self, and if you are not living in integrity to yourself, it becomes hard to put stock in much of anything. When you can’t put stock in much, life’s color starts to fade. It’s important to be true to your word – beginning with you. This is an important nuance. Beginning with you. After your life moments, your next greatest asset is your word. Make it impeccable, make it perfect. Say what you mean, mean what you say, do what you say you will do. If you can’t be certain you will do something, say, “I will do my best to, but I can’t promise…”
This isn’t rocket science, in fact, it is very basic, and can simplify the daylights out of your life. If you said you would do something, simply do it. Excuses are complicated, eliminate them. Make excuses unacceptable, other than life-altering changes like disaster or illness. The flip side of this? You will begin to speak more consciously. You will be forced to think before you speak, not throw commitments around so easily, if you know you have to follow through. Which is how a genuinely actualized person lives.
There is stock in your word: When your word drops in value, respect, pride, and honor plummet. Deep integrity can turn your life around. If you are out of check with yourself, step back in line now. It will shift your life, improve relationships and career, and add color and light to your world.
For Today: Look over your history: How often do you keep your promises? To others? To yourself? Ask yourself, “Aren’t I worth following through on me? If I don’t, how can I expect others to?” and “If I show others I don’t even keep promises to me, how can they put their stock in me?”
Next, look over your tasks. Make commitments to yourself and make it your number one priority to follow through. Make this your highest goal. If you promise you will eat better, eat better. If you say you will go running, go running unless a life-and-death emergency presents. Make your word count. We complicate things. Come up with excuses. This doesn’t have to be complicated. There isn’t a space for excuses. If you said you would do something, do it. Take back your life. Strip away the complexity of excuses.
Make your word count, make your life count. Be someone worthy of honor and respect. You owe it to yourself.