Wellness Wednesday: by Alba Avella Follow through: In sports, when you throw a ball, or hit a golf ball, the most important part of the action is the follow through. Or so I am told. Ive never played ball sports, or swung a golf club, unless putt-putt counts. Regardless, following through on anything is a trait I sometimes cultivate, and sometimes... Not so much. The older I get though, the better I get at recognizing how irritating it can be when people dont follow through with actions or words. I recently started a 30 day challenge. My get-my-booty-in shape challenge. I posted it on Facebook, I got everyone excited about it, I was so excited about it... And then day 6 came. And I was busy. And I was tired. And I had hurt my hip riding my bike. And I had to walk the dog. And I had a ton of laundry to be folded and put away. And I had to teach. And I had every other excuse in the book, and so I let myself off the hook. AFTER 6 DAYS. I cheated myself, and the people who supported me by giving up and giving in. That snowballed into me not finishing what I had started. I have tried to do cleanses, give up vices, give up sweets (yikes), give up bread... I have said I was going to meet a friend, and then cancelled day before, or an hour before. And I am not proud of any of these things. In fact, I feel quite shameful admitting to all this on such a public platform. But oh well... Here I am admitting that I cheat. I give up.... I give in... I dont follow through. I am annoyed with myself because I hate when the roles are reversed and I am being flaked on, or disappointed. I can self deprecate quite often when I dont follow through on things I said I would. And I am pretty sure I am not the only one. So I ask, how do we change this? How do you become a person who follows through? Who says what they mean and actually does it. Someone who doesnt let everyday excuses get in the way of the bigger picture. Someone who no matter what, makes what they said was going to happen... Happen. I write myself notes, I give myself pep talks, I set reminders in my phone. I convince myself I am going to do it this time. I get so motivated and excited, and then just like that, my balloon is deflated. I realize that my habits dont change profoundly in a day, a week, or a month. You dont just become the person you want to be because you want to be that person. You become the person you want to be by working your ass off. Working your ass off at breaking those lazy habits. Changing your way of thinking and breaking cycles that have been in your life your whole life. It takes time, it takes patience, it takes compassion. But you wont ever get anything if there is no follow through. You will never be held accountable if you constantly give up on yourself. If you constantly convince yourself that it is ok you didnt finish, its ok you cancelled, its ok you didnt return that phone call or text. Sometimes... Its NOT ok. Sometimes its not ok to let yourself take the easy way out. Sometimes its not ok to give yourself all the excuses you have to get out of something. Be hard on yourself, be tough. And once we start to make these tiny shifts every day, they grow into something bigger. You say you are going to get up at 6 am no matter what. Do it. You say you are going to do something for 30 days. DO IT. IT IS 30 DAYS. You say you are going to meet a friend for lunch. DO IT. You say you are going to do anything. DO IT. Whatever the follow through is. Follow through. I am saying this to myself as much as I am saying it in this public forum. I need to practice what I preach. Every single day. We let ourselves off the hook way too often. Maybe for the next couple of months we are a little tougher. A little more disciplined. A little more committed to a different way. Who knows what will happen. Who knows what shift you will make. Believe that you are a follow through person. Tell people you will follow through. And then you will. I post this also hoping for some insight. How do you keep yourself motivated? How do you hold yourselves accountable? How do you follow through?
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 21:27:04 +0000
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