Consistency & keeping promises we make to ourselves

I made myself a promise that in 2024 I would write one article every week and publish it on Monday morning. Writing is something I have wanted to do for a very long time. I have tried publishing other blogs in fits and starts, but something more interesting always seemed to derail my intentions and the writing usually took back seat. I have also struggled with thoughts along the lines of "who would even want to read what I write?", or "do I even know enough to have an opinion on this?".

Three weeks into January, I find myself struggling again with motivation, a lack of ideas, a general lethargy, and a strong sense of "what difference will it make if I miss a week?". So I sat myself myself down to write this post. You see, I have come to believe very strongly - through the reading I do and through conversations with talented, smart people that I coach - that motivation that only get us so far. In my very first post of the year, I talk about changing identity to build new habits and part of this process is recognising the seasonality inherently present in all aspects of our lives along with being kinder to ourselves as we go through these seasons. I am consciously practicing what I preach. In another post, I talk about feeling like an imposter and some strategies for getting out of imposter phenomenon zone. I am adding to that list with one more idea, borrowing Nike's tagline of "Just do it". And so even though I felt like I have nothing to say this week, the act of sitting down with a blank page and just doing the writing with no thoughts beyond the act is enough in this season.

I will say more in future posts and articles about how to build consistency even when motivation is nowhere to be found, but for now this short post is me honouring my promise to myself. And that counts for a lot!