The Most Important Promise You’ll Ever Keep

 Most of us consider ourselves to be someone who keeps their word. If we say we’ll do something, we do it. That’s just who we are.

But here’s something I’ve been thinking about lately—what about the promises we make to ourselves?

At a recent mastermind meeting, I noticed something about the most successful people in the room. They all had one thing in common: They don’t drift from what THEY want.

Sure, they show up for others. They keep their commitments to their teams, their families, their clients. But they don’t sacrifice their own goals in the process. They don’t wait for permission. They don’t put their needs on the back burner.

They set targets, they commit, and they follow through.

And because of that, their businesses allow them to show up even better for the people around them.

That hit me hard. 

Because while I pride myself on keeping my word, I’ve set some personal targets and fallen short. Not because I didn’t care, but because I let other things take priority. I let the needs of others override the commitments I made to myself.

I’ve scheduled clients when I was supposed to work out. I’ve stayed late at the gym when I had promised myself I’d be home by 5 PM. And I told myself it was the right thing to do—putting others first. But all I was really doing was breaking my word to myself.

And when that happens, it leads to a specific kind of frustration—the worst kind. The anger at yourself.

The frustration of knowing you had the chance to step up and didn’t. The resentment of realizing you’re the reason you’re still stuck. The quiet disappointment that builds every time you say, I’ll start Monday, knowing full well you won’t.

That kind of anger doesn’t go away. It lingers. It eats at your confidence. It chips away at your belief in what’s possible.

But here’s the thing—keeping your word to yourself isn’t selfish. It’s necessary. Because when you constantly put yourself last, it doesn’t just affect you. It affects everyone around you. When you feel strong, confident, and capable, you show up better for the people in your life.

And when you don’t?

Well, you already know how that feels.

So, if you’ve been putting yourself on the back burner, I hope this is a bit of a wakeup call. 

No one is going to give you permission to go after what you want. You have to take it.

And going for it doesn’t make you an asshole.

It makes you someone who does what they said they would.

Thanks for reading.