I really can’t believe a month has gone by and that we are heading into the final months of the year. Crazy.
My month of commitments to myself was a struggle at times. Mostly with setting aside the time commitments. At the same time, it was extremely rewarding in other areas. Sometimes the simplest task that was completed would bring the most reward because it was something I had avoided or put off.
The biggest struggle for me was on the business side. After working an 8-hour day, the last thing I wanted to do was to think about work again. The 4 hours a week I set aside was too ambitious. Trying to keep to the days and times I had allocated was extremely hard to do. I needed rethink my commitment…augment it in some way. I never quite got anything concrete down. However, because I recognized my struggle, thoughts of the business were forefront in my mind more so than ever. Lists were made, marketing plans in place, and increased social media presence. I didn’t abandon it completely. I just did things in littler chunks of time. Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out how to fit all this into my schedule in bigger chunks. Where there is a will, there is a way, though, and I am hopeful to get this working smoothly.
As for the personal side…well that just went splendidly. Every morning I sat down for 20 minutes and wrote in my journal reflecting on the previous day and looking forward to the day ahead. Within my journaling, I would make a daily commitment to myself. Sometimes it was the same commitment day after day because I wanted it to become a habit. One day I was running late and I only had 12 minutes to write. I got in such a dither about it. Such a silly thing to be worked up over but nonetheless, I was quite upset. Once I got myself controlled, I made a commitment to make up the time later that night. And guess what? I did! By taking 20 minutes each day I learned and gained so much.
- A better understanding on how I sometimes go blindly through the day without being present. Ask me at the end of the day how it was, who I saw, or what I did, I would struggle to recall. Because I wasn’t present in the moment.
- By reflecting on the previous day and the way I felt, I could change up the current day.
- There were several times I would say “no” to something during the day because that morning I had made a commitment. I set goals that push me further yet are easily attainable.
- I always wrote the next day’s date on the top of the next page. This would just reinforce that I was going to write again the following day.
All-in-all, I think this was a very successful journey and I will definitely continue to make commitments to myself…and keeping them.
If you made a commitment to yourself this month, I would love to hear about it. We can all learn from each other.
Now…we need some flowers to look at.
