Do you have a routine you follow every morning?

If so, what happens when you lose your footing?

My life goes totally off course when I don’t follow my self-prescribed morning activities.

And that’s where I am right now.

My a.m. journal entries, include setting my intentions.  But lately, my intentions are not matching my reality.  Because I’m a health coach you might think otherwise.  Like everyone else, we health coaches are human, too.

And the truth is we struggle with the same issues as everyone else.  And like many of you I make excuses.

Naturally, I’m off track.  I’m super busy right now, and I’ve really got a lot on my plate.  But one of these days (weeks, months), I’ll get back on my schedule.

Will that ever happen?

One of the beauties of journaling is accountability.  This is one reason why it’s important to me to write in my journal every morning.

The fact that my intentions are no longer my truths is nagging me.  I can’t ignore it any longer.  And every morning I see those intentions staring up at me from the written page.

Sure, I feel happy and excited to set my intentions every day.  And I do meet most of them.  But setting an intention is not the same as committing to it.  Somewhere between setting the intention, (declaring it verbally or writing it on paper) and taking action lies the gap.

That gap is commitment.  And when you don’t have a commitment, you have a decision, something you may act on or not.

So how can you stay true to your intentions?

Journaling

Keep a journal that you write in daily, and use it in the morning to set your intentions for the day.  There they’ll be in black and white (or whatever color ink and paper you choose).

Check in with your intentions again at the end of each day.  Did you follow your intentions?  Or did you fall short?  Did you feel disappointed with your efforts?  Were you sidetracked, or did you simply forget your intentions or aspirations?

Recommit

Hit a snag?  You can recommit over and over again.  I believe it may have been Nancy Kerrigan who said, “If I’ve learned anything about getting stronger, it’s that you can listen to only one voice – the one that says, ‘Get Up’.”  So Don’t Give Up.

No Excuses

There are none that should take you away from your commitment.  Search for solutions instead.

Challenging as it may be, the ability to put your excuses aside and to search for and to put solutions in place will set you up for creating long-term fulfillment of your goals.

It’s all too easy to paint a dismal picture of our current state of being.

And this is the excuse that lets most of us off the hook.

“That’s just the way it is.”  “This is the way I am.”  “I’m broke.”  “I’m unlovable.”  And so on.

Whether you find yourself overeating, not exercising, not financially where you wish you were, unhappy in a relationship, wishing you’d done more with your education, or wasting your dreams, you tell yourself there’s nothing to be done.

You feel yourself slipping.

Deep down inside you want change, but keeping intentions and setting off in a new direction seems too difficult.

You hesitate to take action because that would mean a change to the consistency in life to which you’ve become accustomed.

The important thing is to not let bad habits or poor choices become the stability or comfort we seek in life.

It’s better to set intentions and then to slip and fall time and time again.  Achieving our expectations is a process.

Steady yourself.  Breathe.  Retain grace and gratitude.  Take small steps.  Keep your sense of humor.  Stay the course.  You’ll feel and be more in control of your life.  The reality is you’re evolving your sense of self.  So appeal to the best within you.

And keep in mind, as Deepak Chopra said, “Inherent in every intention is the mechanics for its fulfillment.”

Please comment below to let us know if you’re skipping out on your intentions and what you’re doing about it.