Thrive By Keeping Your Promises
Mindfulness Mode
Is Honesty a Human Concept?
"I thought it was just very basic. I thought you were either an honest person or you weren't," he says. "Then i started rethinking the whole honesty thing, and i began to see that that it's not just clear cut." He adds: "If you don't have a concept of right and wrong, is honesty even something you can understand?"
Thrive – What does that mean to you? Here’s what I found online:
If someone or something thrives, they do well and are successful, healthy, or strong. He appears to be thriving. Today her company continues to thrive. Synonyms: prosper, do well, flourish. Is honesty important to you? When I was a teenager, I started thinking a lot about honesty. I realized it’s complex. As a younger person, I thought honesty was
black and white. You were either an honest person or you weren’t. I thought you were either telling the truth, or you were lying.
Then I started rethinking the whole honesty thing, and began to see that it’s not cut and dried the way I had previously thought.
For one thing, if you don’t have a concept of right and wrong, is honesty even a concept you can understand? I would say no to that question.
I’d look at my dog and think, Sadie lives in the moment, she doesn’t judge, she doesn’t lie, she doesn’t tell the truth, she doesn’t worry about being honest, because honesty isn’t a concept that an animal could understand.
Well, humans have different concepts of honesty too. What about children? A young child is operating in a completely different sphere compared to that of an adult. Their brain isn’t developed and concepts like honesty, being dependable, emotional maturity, those are all going to be developed later as the child gets older.
For true honesty, we need to look inward. Are we being honest with ourselves? Am I just kidding myself when I say I’m going to read that book today, and then the day ends, and I haven’t read anything?
Keeping promises to yourself is a great way to build your own credibility. The promise can be as simple as, “I’m going to pay a bill today” or “I will go for a walk around the block today”.
Listen & Subscribe on: iTunes / Stitcher / Podbean / Overcast / Spotify I Respect You
Once you keep your promise, you’re saying to yourself, “I respect you, I believe in you enough to keep my promises”.
Keeping promises to yourself can help your mental health too. It can help keep you mentally fit and strong.
Have you experienced your emotion when you didn’t keep a promise to yourself? If you’re like me, it felt like energy leaving my body, like a sinking feeling. A little like being sucked into quicksand.
That’s because if you don’t keep one promise to yourself, your subconscious mind will wonder if you can be trusted at all. It starts to question everything you think, everything you decide you want to do. There’s now a big question mark there.
Cementing That Pattern
Back, almost a month ago, on June 20th, I published an episode called, Attachment Theory and Mindfulness. In that episode I talked about keeping promises to yourself and I said that it’s important to keep your promises to yourself. If you heard that episode, you’ll remember that I explained, ‘this is why a lot of people can’t lose weight, quit smoking, or give up alcohol.’ If broken promises are a pattern in your life, then every day, every week, every month you’re cementing that pattern and making it reality. The same problems, the same broken promises, and the same discouraging let downs keep happening over and over.
Broken Promises
When we start struggling with broken promises like this, the battle is between the conscious and subconscious mind. This is a common struggle for a lot of us, and sometimes we don’t realize that’s what’s holding us back.
I talked about the challenge I call MindMode73. It’s 73 days of keeping a promise to yourself. How are you doing? Did you jump on-board and make a challenge to yourself that you’re working on for 73 days?
I’ve received emails from some of you, Mindful Tribe, telling me that you took the challenge and you’re headed toward day 73. I mentioned that you can easily find your goal date by typing into Google, “what is the date 73 days from now?”
Running In The RainI didn’t tell you that my goal date was July 15, but that was it, just two days ago, so I’ve reached my goal on this current challenge I was working on.
Right now I’m getting ready to start again and I’m adjusting some of the specifics. I never thought I would like running, but now I look forward to it. It feels weird to say it, but I like running in the rain and the cold. This morning it was raining for my whole run and it felt good. It felt energizing and refreshing. I ran every day except for 5 days when I walked the 4 miles. I’m glad I determined at the beginning that I could walk or run.
I wanted be ready for some days when my body would need a break or maybe I wouldn’t be feeling 100 percent, so I promised myself I could either run or walk. On those 5 days, I needed to walk instead of doing my usual run.
Anyway, I’m looking for some new exercises to do at night to keep strengthening my core. I’ve got a few ideas, but haven’t totally decided yet. Can you tell that keeping these promises to myself is rewarding, and makes me feel empowered?
A Powerful Mind GameKeeping a daily promise is what’s important, no matter how basic that promise is. Make sure you consult your doctor if you’re thinking about doing any kind of fasting or if you’re adding exercise to your schedule that you’re not used to. My doctor is 100 percent behind me on this, but definitely check your plans out with your doctor.
Like I mentioned, I call this plan, MindMode73. It’s a mind game and a lot of these ideas came from guests I’ve had on Mindfulness Mode. 73 is one of my favourite numbers, and I like to head towards that 73 day goal. This idea of keeping daily promises to yourself isn’t my idea, lots of other people have talked about creating a schedule, a daily plan and sticking to it. The only thing different about mine is that I like to call it MindMode73.
Join me. Let me know how you're doing. Having a few daily habits can help you too. How about you? Would you like to set up some basic promises to keep in your life for 73 days?
Remember, if you forget to do one thing on any given day, you have to start over again and start your 73 days from the very beginning. That’s part of what makes this motivating.
I got caught a few times with the reading. I’d remember to do everything else, and then I’d forget to do the reading.
Now I’m more on track with the reading and I almost always do it earlier in the day, usually before 5. If I wait, I find I sometimes can’t seem to keep my eyes open to do the reading.
What would your daily promises be if you decided to do MindMode73? Making a promise and sticking to it is empowering. Make a chart or an infographic, and post it where you’ll see it every day. That can help remind you to keep your daily promises as well.
If you decide to do this, I’d love to hear from you. What are your promises? What day are you on? How is it going? Is it helping you feel empowered? Send me an email, bruce@mindfulnessmode.com. I'd love to hear about your progress. Have a great week.
Suggested Resources- Book: A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life by Jack Kornfield
- App: Insight Timer
- Reclaim Your Eating Habits With The Freedom Promise; Mindy Gorman-Plutzer
- 479 Using The Whole Method To Blaze Your Own Trail; Rhonda Smith
- 235 See Into Your Mind With Timothy Carroll
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