Keeping my word to myself . . .

Most of my clearest thoughts come to me when I’m either in the shower or just before I am fully awake. One morning before I opened my eyes, what entered by thoughts was, “You need to show self-integrity”. I don’t know if this is a real word, but I know the meaning of it resounded within me.

Integrity is a highly valued character trait. Basically, it means that you will do what you say you’re going to do. It is characterized by honesty, decency, virtue, and morality. Generally, others have found that they can count on me to carry out whatever I commit to. I want to uphold that reputation; therefore, I am careful about what I say I will do.

Many years ago, I heard the saying, “your word is your bond”. That’s how society made binding agreements before written contracts came into play. People sealed deals and made agreements with a handshake or their word. A person’s word determined his or her reputation. However, it seems that  society doesn’t operate like that much anymore.

Back to my integrity—when I say I’m going to do something for someone, I take measures to ensure I follow through. I’ve always wanted to be thought of as dependable and trustworthy. However, when it comes to keeping my word to myself, I haven’t been as vigilant. If I were, my life would be totally different. I would be at my desired weight, have a high six-figure retirement fund waiting on me, be well traveled, and I would be generating a seven-figure income through multiple streams of revenue.

I feel fairly certain that my path is leading toward having and doing at least most of the things I long for, but I would be much farther along if I had kept my word to myself earlier in life. I’m a great starter when I’m inspired, but I found that I would either lose motivation along the way or allow myself to get distracted by the next crisis in someone else’s life.

Why would I show that strength of character when it comes to others, but not with myself?

As a Life Coach, my clients know they are accountable to me as they carry out the steps to reach their goals. That’s a big part of our agreement because I know that we human beings are much more likely to want to save face with others. We don’t often consider what it does to our self-esteem when we don’t keep our word to ourselves though.

The revelation I received that morning about showing “self-integrity” stung me hard. It made me take a long, hard look at how I’ve lived much of my life. It seems that when it came to me, I always found myself a day late and a dollar short of reaching my goals. As a believer, I know I had been living beneath my privilege; beneath the favor and blessings my Heavenly Father wants me to have. I was selling myself short, coming up empty, and then wondering why. It’s no mystery; it was because I had allowed fear and doubt to take over. I had gotten into the pattern of letting myself down and letting myself off the hook when I didn’t carry out my plans. You may know exactly what I’m talking about.

When I get these bursts of clarity, I look for a corresponding scripture. This one spoke to me:

“Cause me to hear Your loving-kindness in the morning, for on You do I lean and in You do I trust. Cause me to know the way where I should walk, for I lift up my inner self to You.” – Psalms 143:8 AMPC

I know the hurt, frustration, and eventual desperation living like that leads to. It causes regret, disappointment, and disillusionment to the point of saying to yourself, “What’s the use in trying; you’re never going to get there”. If you’ve ever fallen victim to this negative self-talk, you can identify.

Well, that doesn’t have to be the case. Just like me, you can decide to make a brand-new commitment to yourself to follow through on your dreams and aspirations; to live intentionally. That was also one of my main motivations for wanting to do this work of coaching. I want to help others live the lives they dream about.

What will be different this time? This time, you will bring an accountability partner along who will encourage, inspire, and walk with you, step-by-step through the entire process. I want to be that partner. It won’t be easy, but you will be much more likely to find true transformation.

To discover what that could look like, contact me at Lois@thepathwaycoach.com or visit my website, www.thepathwaycoach.com to access your free 30-minute Discovery Session.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Blessings and favor,

Lois