We’ve gone over a lot during Preptober––goal setting, your why, routines… but none of that will matter if you’re in the midst of NaNoWriMo and aren’t following through on your promises. I’ve mentioned having an accountability system will help you follow through on your NaNoWriMo goals, but I haven’t talked much about the ultimate promise: the promise to yourself.
Your promise to yourself could be completing 50,000 words in November. Or it could be something else entirely. But if you’re participating in NaNoWriMo and you haven’t publicly declared it, now’s the opportunity to step up and declare yourself a participant.
Others Will Look at You Differently
No one likes the person that says they’re doing something and then they never actually accomplish it. Nobody. Because if you don’t follow through on your promises, you look like an unreliable person. And no one wants to work with let alone hang with someone who is unreliable.
I used to be that person. When I wasn’t making my writing a priority, I told everyone that I wanted to be a writer. I had been talking a big game about what I wanted out of life, but those were just words. Empty words that were coming out of my mouth.
I was a liar. I lied to everyone––including myself. All because I wasn’t following through on what I said I was going to do. I made empty promises with no follow-through and people saw me for what I was: someone who made promises I never intended to keep.
It wasn’t until I was two years into one of my previous jobs as a marketing coordinator that one of my coworkers called me on it.
“You said you wanted to be a writer two years ago,” she said. “What happened? Have you made any progress on that?”
She wasn’t being rude. She was just voicing what everyone––including myself, on some level––was thinking.
And you know what? She was right.
I had gotten my English degree with the mindset of becoming a published author someday, but my dream scared me too much to take any action on it. I had unfinished works, query letters that I had never sent, and an imagination that went wild with endless ‘what if’ scenarios.
Oh, I used to cling to the excuses: “I’ve been busy working a full time job. I’ve been taking coding classes on the side. I have a husband now. I don’t have time to write.”
And those were some weak excuses. Because that’s all they were: excuses.
The real problem was me. I was the one standing in my own way, afraid to take a step forward into who I really wanted to become. My fear was the real thing that was stopping me.
Now when I tell someone I’m going to do something, I follow through. I make a plan of action and I try to be as truthful as I can. If someone asks me to do something, I either tell them that I do not have time for it or tell them a reasonable timeframe that it will get done. And when I talk about writing now, I know and other people know that I’m actually getting my writing done.
Figure out what is stopping you from fulfilling your promises. Do not fall into the same traps that I did. Do not procrastinate. Determine what you really want and get after it.
People will look at you differently if you do.
Self Confidence
You cannot have self confidence if you do not do what you say you are going to do. Let’s say you have a goal to drink a gallon of water every day. If you consistently do not reach that goal and instead drink soda all day, how will you feel about yourself? Pretty low.
When I was struggling with being overweight, I would tell everyone that I was on a diet. Then, I’d proceed to down a whole bunch of chips and ice cream. I want to remind you: there is nothing wrong with chips and ice cream in moderation. But at that time, I’d go do a workout where my heart wasn’t in it and then turn right around to eat way more than I ever needed to in secrecy.
Behind the scenes, I was miserable. I kept up a pretense that I was living a healthy lifestyle. Newsflash: I wasn’t. I was tired and groggy and just not feeling great. The double life I led was exhausting until I finally just gave up pretending.
It wasn’t until I started actually showing up for myself that things changed. I’m just not talking about the weight loss––I’m talking about the emotional journey. I went from empty promises with myself to fulfilled promises with myself.
The difference in my attitude became night and day. I discovered that by following through on promises you have made yourself, you are telling yourself that you have integrity. That you can follow through on plans you’ve made. You’re developing trust with yourself by refusing to give up.
Show up for yourself. Keep the promises that you make to yourself and see your self confidence completely transform.
Accountability
A part of ensuring that you’re getting your writing done is how you’re holding yourself accountable. I’ve talked before about having accountability goals. Your accountability goals should do just that: hold you accountable.
One of the reasons why I started up my YouTube channel and posting regularly on social media is to hold myself accountable to what I said I was going to do. If I’m not regularly writing, my social media is going to reflect that and my followers will know that my head isn’t in the game.
Keeping promises to yourself is important, so if you say you’re going to write 50,000 words in November for NaNoWriMo, make sure that you are able and willing to follow through.
Tomorrow, I’ll be discussing more of the fun stuff surrounding NaNoWriMo like reward systems and treating yourself. Let me know in the comment section below if this blog was helpful.
Elizabeth Yuen 