Day 183: Halfway Point
There is something so satisfying and reassuring when you reach the halfway point. When you realize you are right in the middle of starting and ending. It is the point during a journey that quite easily marks the amount of process that has been made. Today, with this very blog post, marks making it halfway through my 366 blog post challenge.
One hundred and eight-three days ago when I started this journey, I honestly had no idea if I would make it this far. The biggest challenge I had ever committed to doing was a 52 week photo project. Writing this many blog posts and dedicating every day for a year to this project, was by far one of the biggest decisions I have made. I had no idea the kind of commitment I was making, however, I soon began to realize the complete extent of what I had signed up for.
I was quite sure I wouldn't make it thirty days without missing a blog post. However, a month passed, two months passed and I hadn't missed a single one. There was one time I forgot to post the blog after I had written it though, but I don't count that as a miss because I still wrote the entire contents of the post that day. I've stayed up far too late in order to get it done, said "Sorry, I have to write a blog posts" more times than I can count, and have faced writers block. In all of this time, I have missed only one post and then wrote two the next day. I've written some of my favorite blog posts ever and struggled getting words out into posts that have fallen below expectations.
In this short, I have faced every sort of emotion and challenge a writer could probably imagine. And it has been a wonderful experience. Before I was a photographer, I found my passion for creating within the world of writing. Doing this challenge has reconnected me with my early love for storytelling. I've developed a writing style and have completely surprised myself in so many ways.
However, the biggest lessons I have learned so far from this experience is simple. The most important promises to keep, are the ones we make to ourselves. While it is important to keep our word when dealing with others, keeping our own word should come first. Our dedication to the things we promise to do for our own passions and joys, will often dictate how well we show up for others. Learning to stay dedicated to that which you promised yourself to do, will be the stepping stone to building a better reputation for keeping your promises with others.
This is something we all struggle with because it's easy to break our own promises and not see many repercussions. We might be annoyed or disappointed in ourselves, but we haven't hurt those we love. Something that desperately needs to be worked on is our consideration for our own word. Keeping our word builds trust, do you trust yourself? If you don't, maybe it's time to fix that. Maybe it's time to build trust between you and yourself.
Start by making little promises to yourself every day. It could be as simple as promising yourself to make your bed in the morning or organize one of your desk drawer. Then all you have to do is show up. Build a good relationship with yourself and it will translate over into your relationships with others. Also try promising for a long term project or task. Make a big commitment and follow through. The amount of satisfaction that comes with finishing it will be well worth it. It's all about honoring your own word and showing up.
As I head into the next season of my challenge I am looking forward to all of the challenges that I will be facing, and there will be many. There's nothing quite as important as doing your best for yourself and others. Let this be your motivation to commit to following through with all the promises you have made. Together we can build a community of trust and support. All it takes is starting small with intentional promises being fulfilled every day.
Until Next Time,
Lillian Merritt
If you're interested in going back and reading a few of my previous blog posts, below are some of my favorites.
