This week, I was going to write about wedding vows - how they describe the words and actions we hope to live by in our marriage. But as I revisited the promises my husband and I made to each other on our big day, I realized that I could benefit from making some of the same promises to myself.
If you read this portion of our wedding vows, you’ll see what I mean:
𝘐 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦.
𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵.
𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.
𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴.
I have to admit, I’m much better at keeping promises to others than I am at keeping the ones I make to myself. I love and accept others while judging my own imperfections. I offer support to others but struggle to accept their help when I need it. I celebrate everyone else's successes, but rarely slow down enough to recognize my own. I'm confident in the strength of others but doubt myself when facing life's challenges.
This week, I'm focusing on making (and keeping) promises to myself like moving my body, quieting my mind through prayer and meditation, and seeking out an intentional connection with others.
As you assess the week ahead, reflect on these 2 questions:
How can you show more love and empathy to yourself?
What vows or promises will you make to yourself for the coming week?
If you are looking for support or accountability to keep those promises to yourself, don’t hesitate to reach out or schedule a free discovery session.