You're worth it

In defense of making a date / Issue 1,124

Oh, hi friends!

Here we go.

When we go to the dentist, we’re at the mercy of the dentist. Your time becomes your dentist’s time. But you can and should treat commitments to yourself with similar diligence. This isn’t about being harder on yourself. It’s the opposite: you are giving yourself the same focus and concentration as you would someone else. They’re worth it, but you’re worth it too. 

This is from an interview I did with my pal Steve Koepp for From Day One. 

Let’s talk about it for a second.

That Zoom call on your calendar. Your therapy appointment. The dentist. Meeting your friend for a run.

We show up for these things because we respect that time. It’s blocked off. Immovable, for the most part.

We often feel obliged to others but what about turning that sense of commitment back to ourselves? 

You can make a writing appointment with yourself. 

You can put an hour on your calendar to nail down that squirmy little business idea.

You can say at 10:15 am I’m calling to finally, finally, finally confirm that thing I’ve been avoiding. 

I definitely don’t want to force-feed myself a calendar of obligations.

But what I do want — and maybe you want it too? — is to extend the accountability to myself that I often extend to others. 

This is a kind of boundary!

They’re worth it.

But remember: You’re worth it, too.

More in our interview about how to flake with grace, not solving other people’s problems, what to say instead of “can I pick your brain?” and everything else included in my new book Do It (or Don’t): A Boundary-Creating Journal. (Amazon, Bookshop, Urban Outfitters)

Thanks for all the love for Monday’s podcast episode with early-bird musical theater writer Sara Wordsworth!
You can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or my website.