Greetings, G.O. readers!
Sorry, I haven’t been on my task of being a “good” blogger. I fell off again, (in more ways than one as you’ll later see). I know it’s been a hot minute, but I’m here now. My last entry was an early morning insomnia rant, I believe, that took place at like 3 or 4 something A.M. During said rant, I promised to go into more detail about my major slip up with the caffeine.
Some months ago, I made a declaration to put down the Cokes and Red Bulls for the rest of the year. Without going back and reading said entry, I’ll say I likely wrote it at the end of June. In my defense, I did put down the caffeine for nearly two months. My last day of imbibing had been June 30th, and I think I had my slip up around August 20th. So I really was good the whole month of July, and most of August. The slip came in the form of two Red Bulls. I had one on the 20th and one on the 21st. In my defense, I did go back off of them until I had another slip up on October 1st. Once I tumbled with the Red Bulls in August though, it kick started a Pepsi and a Monster phase.
Monsters have never been my favorite energy drink, and Pepsi has never been my favorite cola beverage–which is why I reasoned that if I had one of these every so often, it wouldn’t be as addicting because neither tastes as good to me as Red Bull and Coke. I was sort of right. I wasn’t as prone to drinking either, but I still drank them enough to know that I hadn’t been impeccable with my word regarding the issue. Being impeccable with your word is one of the Four Agreements Don Miguel Ruiz discusses in his book by the same name.
In the first of The Four Agreements, (being impeccable with your word), Ruiz states, “Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love”.
Of course there’s more to this agreement than the above statement, but that’s the gist of it. For a more in depth interpretation of this agreement (without reading the book), check out this site: http://www.toltecspirit.com/four-agreements/impeccable-word/
Needless to say, I wasn’t impeccable with my word regarding my caffeine intake. Or was I? When I said it, I really did mean it, and had full intentions of not having another sip for the rest of the year; but the stressed out human side of me took over, and next thing I knew, my actions weren’t matching up with what I’d said I would do. I’d never thought of this before until now, but is it still being impeccable with your word if you really mean what you say at the time you say it, but in the end, you don’t follow through? I do get that some people lie and say they’re going to do something, when they already know going in, they have no intentions of making good on their promise; but what about if you simply change your mind down the road or have a slip up?
I could see where giving in to something you said you wouldn’t do might actually not be considered being impeccable with your word. But what about when your priorities simply shift? Isn’t a person entitled to change their mind? The challenge, I suppose is in having discernment–knowing the difference between when you’ve truly changed your mind about something vs. when you’re just giving in. In my case, I got stressed out and just gave in. Maybe I answered my own question. Perhaps even if you start out being sincere in what you intend to do, if you simply give in, maybe you weren’t impeccable with your word, (because you broke a promise that you felt was still worth keeping). Could it be it’s the end result that counts–not the beginning? Maybe it’s only when you don’t stick to what you still really want to do vs. when you don’t stick to something you no longer see the value in doing, that matters.
Okay, I think I’ve gone around this mulberry bush enough times. I just wanted to share with you guys what happened, and that I’m trying to get back on track. I’m going to be careful this time about what I put out there. I just need to make sure that if I’m going to break a promise or intention I set, that I’m not doing it just because things get hard or because it would be more pleasant to cave in. I would rather it be because I’ve genuinely changed my mind or decided that another course of action would be better. With that being said, I’m not saying that people can’t or won’t have slip ups–nobody’s perfect (especially not me). So have your slip ups. Just don’t let them be an excuse to not get realigned with your goal. Maybe we should just consider being more impeccable with the words and intentions we put out there. If you guys want to check out Mr. Ruiz’s book, you can get it here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1878424319?keywords=the%20four%20agreements&qid=1444221694&ref_=sr_1_2&s=books&sr=1-2
Until next time, here’s to wishing everyone an awesome day. The Fall Fun Pics posts will be coming next!
Girl October
