Artists, Keep Your Promises to Yourself

A few years ago, Elli requested to meet with me one-on-one about my job performance.

Honestly, I was a little nervous because she’d never asked to do that before. I didn’t know what to expect going into the meeting. On the one hand, I’d moved up quickly and taken on an incredible amount of responsibility. But I knew that I wasn’t operating at my full potential, so I was anxious to hear what she had to say.

When we sat down in our meeting room, she praised me for my initiative in all areas and my work ethic. But then she told me that I was starting to get a reputation for being unreliable.

That stung.

I’d tell people that I’d get something done by a certain date and wouldn’t hit that deadline because I overcommitted myself and would say yes to basically everything. When I said yes, I genuinely believed that I’d be able to deliver on the thing I said yes to. And I probably would’ve been able to deliver on it, had I not said yes to the next thing after.

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I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was slowly eating away at my reputation. Hearing those words was a real gut check. I really wanted to be able to do it all, but I wasn’t able to.  The truth is, though, it bothered me more than anything because I knew that it was true. And I knew that before she even told me. Her telling me was just the external validation to the internal struggle that I’d been dealing with for a long time.

I vowed to work on this because I knew that reputation is key. But the thing is that what others think of you doesn’t matter nearly as much as the reputation that you gain with yourself.

Keep Your Promises to Yourself

How are you about keeping the promises you tell yourself? Do you set the alarm at night, only to snooze in the morning? Do you vow to eat healthy, only to have dessert when you’re out at dinner with friends? Do you promise yourself that you’ll paint when you get home from work, only to slink into the couch because it was a long day?

I’m not asking these questions to trigger you—though, if you are triggered, it’s worth noting—I’m simply asking them because one of the worst things you can do is break the promises you make to yourself.

Over time, your self-talk becomes empty, and you doubt yourself. You doubt that spark inside you that gets excited when you have an idea or want to make a change because you don’t believe that you’ll follow through.

Make Promises You Can Keep

But where do you start if your promises have already been broken? Well, make some that you can keep. Let other people know about them. Stick to them. Get momentum. Make it happen. Use your entire willpower. Get other people to do the thing with you. Who cares if your husband doesn’t like to paint? Make it a date night!

Watch this if you’re hiding from your creativity.