When you draw a line in the sand, prepare to be tested.
After almost a month of no working out, I said to myself, I am going to work out Friday, no matter what. In fact, I even told my husband, do not let me back in the house until I have gone to the gym. He laughingly agreed.
I absolutely did not feel like going to the gym but remembered my promise to myself to work out. Well, I went to the gym and as I walked in and swiped my card, (indicating that I was going to work out, and not just pay for a membership this month!) the fresh-faced guy behind the counter says, oh sorry, we are closing in 10 minutes. Mildly annoyed, but politely I say, Oh, well is there a 24 hour gym I can go to? He says yes, just down the road in fact, I ask, “Are you sure?” He says, “Yes”
So you can probably tell where this is going but hang on my story gets better-
I go to the gym further up the road where I see a man standing by a closed and obviously locked door. Infuriated, I look at the sign to the right that says Monday-Friday 24 hours, Saturday-Sunday 8am-8pm. I see an employee inside who I flag down and I inquire as to the discrepancy. (not really a discrepancy, but an error on my part, but more on that later.
He explains that the 24 hours applies to Monday through Friday till midnight, then the gym closes and reopens again at 8am on Saturday morning (way too late to do me any good right now!) Frustrated, but seeing his logic, I head off to my car and drive home.
So I failed to workout, despite my best efforts, and while I think a lot of people would have been deterred by the first gym closing, I did persevere to the next gym but I did give up before actually working out so while the effort was expended, I didn’t keep my promise to myself. No big deal, right? I can always work out another day. Well the truth is, your word to yourself is the first promise you make, and its a good indication of whether your word to others is worth. Think about it, if you can’t keep a promise to yourself, how good will a promise to others be? I take a great deal of pride in the fact that if I say I will do something or I will be there, it gets done or I show up.
How about you? How much integrity do you have when it comes to work, friendships and relationships? Are you able to be counted on for keeping your word or is it shaky?
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
― John Wooden
Think about it!
Haston Helping Hands 