How to stick to your daily life commitments?

I guess at any point in our lives there are things, we want to commit to do. Implement new habits into our daily routine, adapt new ideas or start a new activity. We say to ourselves we will do it, we may even write them down in an imperative tone and promise to stick to them, but when the reality faces us we just have at least a few valid (and very logical) reasons for not doing so. Sounds familiar?

It does to me. And my experience with those sort of situations goes as follows:


*It's evening of a weekday and I am sitting on my bed with the laptop. I opened Blogger to write a post, which I was creating in my mind during the day or perhaps even over the last few days or weeks. So I open the blogging application, start writing a few words and bum... getting distracted by breaking news of someone posting their new exciting photos on Facebook... or even more vainly, I see that somone just liked one of my photos. Incredible. I spend 20 to 30 minutes digesting this delight and scrolling up and down on the Facebook screen. By the time I really should finish my text I am tired. I tell myself off and I write. Angry because it's late, but technically I have the whole night to be creative and maybe caching up on sleep later.

*It's Monday morning and I committed to regular morning workout to top up my gym classes. I wake up at 6:15 and see my cat sleeping. It's such a sweet view that I try to get over it for the next 5 minutes and I eventually - in emotional pain get up. By the time I wash my face and open my laptop to find the workout I am OK. When I finish I am sorted and grateful to myself that I had the balls to wake up so early in my world.


What is different in both situations? It is that the willingness to take action is there, and both things are beneficial to my development. They are actually things I seem to like doing. Definitely the time limit can be a very strong motivator. I know I have only an hour in the morning and once I have chosen to wake up earlier than usual I better do something good with it. However, the exercise is already designed, I don't have to be creative to do it. It's a routine whereas writing is the opposite. You can't just be inspired 24/7. You need sometimes to take longer to let the words flow. Sometimes, like in any intellectual work you have to even force them.

Whatever our commitment is - an exercise, a study, a new activity the hardest part is to start. So try to choose your commitment carefully cause it's for you, it's about you and it's you who will be doing it. Start it and literally get yourself to love it. I am not saying enjoy it, I am suggesting you to love it. Once you get yourself to that space it will be easier to stick to it and carry on. And if you manage to stick to it, your next commitment will be easier to achieve. And it will make you feel good about yourself which will contribute to your confidence. And that's the main ingredient you need to create those more challenging commitments on your everyday life journey.