Keeping promises

We’re already 5 days into 2009, which is when New Year resolutions start to go more or less out the window, or are in danger of tiptoeing in that direction.

Resolutions are promises we make to ourselves. My New Year started with shock therapy to cure me forever from making promises I can’t keep.

Thought I’d share the story with you to cheer you up in case all your resolutions are already in shards around your ankles.

What happened?

My 9 yr old son was really looking forward to setting off all his fire crackers with his friends.
I suggested he sleep a few hours and promised to wake him at midnight. He absolutely refused. Then 30 min before count down he crept away and quietly curled up in a corner in deep hibernate mode. Come midnight I tried everything to wake him but he was out cold. Eventually I gave up and just let him be. Wrong! I’d forgotten something really important. I’d forgotten I’d promised to wake him. Doing your best just isn’t good enough in this instance. After all, a promise is a promise.

When Jules eventually woke up he was furious and I was in serious pooh. Even worse, I totally deserved it. I hadn’t thought this through at all. I felt like I’d betrayed him deeply. That I was untrustworthy; the worst mother in the whole world. How could I have been so thoughtless? If I knew what I know now I would have poured a bucket of cold water over his head. Anything, to keep my word.

But the deed was done. I couldn’t turn back the clock.

So, how to make amends?
I told him he was right. I had made a terrible mistake and because of this we would change our plans and spend the day doing anything he liked.

Result?

We spent the morning at Alpemari, an outrageously expensive water world about half an hour from Zürich.
There are all these really scary slides, with names like cobra, thriller and tornado and
Jules’s all time favourite, the Balla Balla. This one sends you hurtling down a pitch dark tube, with flashes of lightening and then it takes you out into the freezing outdoors to get snowed on before dropping you again down another terrifying twister.

Licence to scream as much as you like. Scream out all your frustrations of the past year. A healing, purifying, cleansing process. Better than confession any day.
Finally your limp body gets spat out into a tepid pool at the foot of a zillion steps so you can climb back up again and do it all again.

So, now I have made my confession to you too. (Took me 5 days to own up!) This is how I did my penance. 10 slides, at least 2 times each with step training in between. It was a bit like counting beads on a rosary. Bless me for I have sinned!

Fortunately there was also a hot saline external bath and the end to sooth the weary muscles and bruised bones of this recovering sinner.

Moral of the story?
Don’t make promises to your kid unless you can keep them.

You don’t have any kids?

Sure you do. Everyone has an inner kid. And rumour has it that this is the most neglected kid on the block.
Have you made promises to yourself, esp your inner kid, that you can’t (or don’t really intend to) keep?
This is a sure fire way to shoot yourself in the foot.


This is my new year resolution:
To give myself a break and not make any promises unless they align with my own well being and I absolutely can keep them.

Watch out for my free report ‘ 6 ways to embrace yourself in 2009’ arriving in your mailbox on Jan 7th if you're subscribed to my newsletter.

Oh my gosh, what HAVE I promised!
; )

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http://handanalysisonline.com/newsletter.php