Last night, Ari and I sat
outside on the porch for our usual Sunday afternoon chat. She painted her nails
while her son ran around the backyard, and I enjoyed the scene and listened. We
caught up on everything new in our lives because we haven't seen each other a
lot lately. I brought up a few things that I started and have wanted to do. I
complained that they're just too boring for me to follow through and how I
always justify not doing it with an excuse. Case in point, running. I had a
running routine going for about a week until I got bored. It's probably because
I was running alone and didn't have a partner encouraging me to continue. I let
myself quit. "It's not that it's hard, running is just sooo boring."
Another example, I set a goal to read a book for at least 15 minutes a day, everyday of March. I have not done it one day, and I even came up with a
loophole on top of my excuses. "I read the bible so that counts as my 15
minutes. Oh, I don't have anything interesting to read... I don't mind reading,
it's just that the hardest part is picking up the book.” I allow myself to get
away with these petty reasons.
It all became clear to me:
I will succeed when I am held accountable to someone else. I hate the thought
of disappointing people, but I clearly have no problem with not keeping
promises to myself. Last night, Ari encouraged me to follow through on these
goals. She gave me The Hunger Games to read and told me to read for 30
minutes. I don't want to let her down, and I know she'll be checking to see if
I did it.
For the most part, we can count on ourselves to stay motivated in
achieving our personal goals, but there are some rules we will allow ourselves
to break. In those cases, we should reach for the help of another to keep us on
track. Answering to someone else is different, and can be more effective, than
answering to our selves. Being held accountable to another person has already
revitalized my commitment to this goal and myself. And if not for anything
more, having another person involved lets you share your progress and celebrate
your triumphs with someone. It feels good to turn this around and show her that
I'm sticking to my word. I BETTER
GET READING!
To The Better Days:
Proverbs 27:17 ♥ Britt T
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