Do you know I can't brush my teeth in the morning unless I study at least 3 chapters of the Bible everyday? And since I have no intentions of polluting the atmosphere with my bad breath, I have no option but to read the Bible before leaving my house every morning. Also, I can't take my bath until I write at least 500 words every day. So putting down words daily is now an easy decision to make, because I know I'd really be needing that shower.
I know what you're thinking, so no. Nobody forced or coerced me into making those resolutions, but I'd rather give-up a limb than break any one of them. Because making resolutions, is probably the most effective tool I know, to compelling myself to do a task I find distasteful. But I don't care about my comfort or convenience; I want results and if making vows help me do tasks that yields positive results in my life both now and in the future; then I'll keep making them.
In addition, when you begin to honor the agreements you make with yourself and others, something amazing starts to happen: you begin to see yourself as someone who honors his agreements and that changes everything. As Werner Erhard observed: “your life works to the degree you honor your agreements”. I believe that statement with every fiber in my bones.
However, making resolutions is the second most powerful personal development tool I know. The first is keeping a list of things you want to do. Life is messy and we often forget or deliberately put-off some of the most important tasks that we know we ought to be doing, and that's why having a means to capture everything that pops into our mind on a daily basis is so important. In the words of Martha Stewart, “Life is too complicated not to be orderly”. I couldn't agree more.
While most folks are trying to remember things with their brains, the really intelligent ones among us continue to preserve creative energy by putting down everything that they need to remember in a trusted system they're sure to look. The geniuses think with their brains and remember things with their pens. Everyone else tries to remember things with their brains and also think with it. Don't be like everyone else.
I simply can't overemphasize how much difference the practice of capturing anything I don't want to forget has made in my life. It has made me a more efficient and effective person both at work and at home. The effect of this singular action alone on my person has been completely mind-blowing!
As I said earlier, the second most powerful self-growth tool I know is living by the power of resolutions. I learnt about the power of making personal vows from the great Mahatma Gandhi. In his autobiography, I read how he was willing to die in order not to break vows he had made to himself. And although I don't wish such extreme measures on anyone, I do highly recommend the act of making personal vows (resolutions).
Start with the small things and walk your way up. Tell yourself: “I vow never to do this until I complete that” and keep to your word, even if you've to pay with your sweat and blood. Because each time you make a resolution and keep it, you grow in self-control and hence become empowered to make more critical and important vows. This habit has the power to change your life forever! Trust me, I know.
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