Promises You Should Make To Yourself Starting Now

You owe it to yourself to take care of you, be kind to yourself, help build yourself up, and become all-around better.

Some people neglect themselves. If you’re one of them, now is the time to stop.

Your overall well-being is largely (if not entirely) determined by your approach to self-care. The decisions you make now can have a tremendous impact on your future.

A great way to guide your self-care strategy is to make guarantees to yourself. You need to make promises to you that you will always keep.

These promises must guide how you’ll approach your personal development. They’re the foundation of your path forward.

Here are some promises you should make to yourself.

1. To take care of your health

Your health is the most important thing you have. It’s more important than money and it’s more important than anything material. It’s a blessing to have health and it’s your duty to take care of it.

You need to take care of your health and make sure you stay healthy. You need to make the right choices for your body and (by association) you mind.

2. To keep going

In life, you may fail. You may encounter hardships that hold you back or take you on unwanted detours. Your journey could very well contain its share of ups and downs.

No matter what might come up in your life, you need to keep pushing. You must be resilient, remain focused and keep trying to achieve greatness.

It doesn’t matter how monumental a challenge may seem; don’t let it stop you.

3. To exercise

Part of taking care of your health is making sure you get enough movement in your day. Exercising confers many health benefits but it also helps keep the body in shape to deal with life’s challenges.

Do a little walking every day. Try to fit in at least a few minutes of moderate exercise in your day. Make sure to ask your healthcare provider before starting any major exercise routines.

4. To eat right

Eating right is also a way to take care of your health. But it also deserves its own discussion because of how important it is. You owe it to yourself to make sure you eat the right food.

Eat a sufficient amount of vegetables, the right amount of carbs and protein. Make sure you have a well-balanced meal plan that incorporates a variety of healthy and nutritious foods.

5. To take ownership of your happiness

Your happiness is yours. Don’t let it be dependent on anything or anyone else.

You need to promise yourself that you’ll take ownership of your happiness and not let it be affected by anything around you.

Being in a state of happiness despite hard times might seem like an arduous task but it is very doable.

Happiness is an emotion experienced within so you must allow it to grow from within.

I’m not going to lie and say that the external world can’t possibly affect mood. At the end of the day, there’s nothing wrong with feeling things.

But prioritizing your happiness and finding it even if it seems difficult is an accomplishment with a worthwhile reward.

Sometimes things may not go your way but you just have to keep the right attitude regardless.

6. To think clearly

A clear mind is a mind more capable of thinking logically, rationally, and just generally well. A clear mind is more capable of finding solutions to problems.

Not thinking clearly increases the risk of making mistakes, while thinking clearly minimizes the chances of making any.

Is this to say one who thinks clearly cannot make mistakes? No. But thinking clearly sure can minimize the chances of mistakes.

Make a point of not letting your mind get flustered by emotion even in the most stressful situations. You don’t have to not feel emotions, just don’t let them affect your thinking.

7. To not let anything bother you

Your peace of mind (like your happiness) is not something that should depend on the outside world. You live a happier lifestyle if you don’t let things bother you.

Don’t give anything power over your mind and your emotional well-being. Be resilient. Nothing needs to affect your mind if it’s not given permission to do so.

8. To take time for yourself

Even if you live a busy lifestyle, you owe it to yourself to take some time off once in a while.

You need to give your body and your mind the opportunity to relax and regain energy. Work, for example, is something you should be taking vacations from.

Even on a day-to-day basis, try to take 30 or 45 minutes to yourself to just sit back, relax and do something that makes you feel at ease.

9. To make the most of every good moment

Fond memories can be a great thing to look back at. Life is full of beautiful moments that should be enjoyed to the fullest.

One of the best ways to live a fulfilling life is to enjoy the smallest and largest moments within it. Every good moment is something to savor.

Don’t look back at the past and wish you enjoyed it more. Be in the moment and feel it.

10. Not to waste time

Your time is precious. It’s a valuable resource that you can use to your advantage. You can use it to achieve goals and better yourself.

You owe it to yourself not to waste your time.

Make sure you use your time wisely.

11. To keep your finances in check

Finances can be a source of stress if they’re in rough shape. Getting your finances in check helps with preventing this stress.

Even if you are in a financially comfortable place, keep a watchful eye on your finances and make sure they stay in good shape. This helps prevent financial hardships down the line.

You don’t need to become rich overnight. Just make sure you’re watching and paying off any debts you may have, you’re paying your bills on time and you’re spending your money wisely.

12. Not to overthink

Have you ever truly gotten anything positive out of overthinking? For a lot of people overthinking accomplishes nothing and sometimes even causes more problems than it solves.

Don’t be a prisoner of your thoughts. If you’re an overthinker, start looking for ways to deal with this. Learn to break thought cycles that might be causing stress.

Resist the urge to give too much thought to anything. Live your life and leave obsessive thoughts behind.

Read: How To Stop Overthinking

13. To leave the past behind you

What’s the point of dwelling on the past? It happened. It might be bad, it might be a massive source of irritation, but it happened.

Things that went unsaid, things that were said but shouldn’t have been, ways people wronged us, etc. – all of these can be sources of pain. But they don’t need to be.

Leave the past behind. Don’t let it hurt you. It is what it is. If it bothers you, accept it and let it simply become data in your mind.

Focus on the present and the future; they’re more important.

14. To solve problems or live with them

Is there really any other choice? And by solve the problem, I don’t mean doing something that’ll end up just getting you in trouble or making matters worse. There’s limits on what can and should be done in life.

So it should really say if there’s no mature solution to a problem, live with it. And that really is some good advice, whether it’s easy to swallow or not.

15. To overcome any traumas you may have

Trauma is a burden that you shouldn’t force yourself to constantly carry around. For your own mental well-being, if you suffer from trauma you should resolve it.

Is this going to be a quick and easy process? Probably not. But healing from trauma is achievable. Trauma that isn’t addressed will rarely just fade away. It’s important to have strategies in place to face your trauma and get rid of it.

Read: 7 Trauma Coping Strategies To Help With Healing

16. To know your worth

Carry yourself through life knowing who you are and what you are capable of. Don’t allow yourself to feel insufficient. You’re worthy of good things and great success.

Look not only at how far you’ve gotten but also how far you can continue to go. Assure yourself that you’ll carry your worth with you both in the present as you work on yourself and in the future as you develop as a person.

Feel good about yourself but stay humble.

17. To stay calm no matter what

Calmness is a source of strength, inner peace and clear thinking. A calm mind thinks better than a stressed one.

Don’t let anything agitate you or get you flustered. Maintain your soundness of mind and always remain calm. Assess every situation with a relaxed attitude and react with a calm demeanor.

18. To keep learning

Always strive to broaden your horizons and increase the amount of knowledge you have. You don’t have to know everything and realistically there’s a good chance you’ll forget a lot of what you learn.

But the more knowledge you retain, the better. It builds your mental resources which you can use to help you deal with life’s hardships.

19. To work on bettering yourself

Something smart to put effort towards is yourself. Focus on becoming a better person overall. Focus on self-improvement and growth.

You are one of the most important projects you can work on in life. No matter how small an improvement is, make it. Remind yourself to try to be at least 1% better than you were yesterday.

It may not seem like much but if you work on yourself a little every day, it can add up. Remind yourself of this when you start each day.

20. To accept emotions – and not let them control you

You own your emotions. Don’t let your emotions own you. You have to accept them, but don’t let them take you down the wrong path.

Emotional thinking is very often going to be unclear thinking.

Don’t get me wrong, emotions are great and very important. They are an alarm of sorts. But the problem arises when they get out of control and take our thinking hostage.

Let your emotions guide you but not control you. Learn to accept them and be open to their presence, but don’t be debilitated by them.

21. To learn from and not dwell on failures

Failures are great lessons. They are not, however, great memories nor are they great obsessions.

Use your failures as a lesson to understand where you may have gone wrong. Use them as a guide to better determine where to focus your self-improvement efforts.

Do not dwell on and feel distressed by them, though. That’s where failures go from opportunities for growth to sources of pain.

22. To think before you act

Your actions can have consequences. You may feel things and you may have impulses you want to act on, but thinking before you act is crucial.

You must separate emotions and impulses from actions and reactions. Your behavior should be regulated and wise.

Take a moment to react. Think through your options and make your choices calmly and with regard for what may result from your actions.