*This post was originally published in my May newsletter. If you’d like to receive the twice monthly newsletter you can sign-up here!

I missed the recent lunar eclipse a few weeks ago. I knew it was happening, and on the night it occurred, I saw the rising full moon. But I assumed the eclipse would happen early the next morning, and I didn’t take the time to find out what time it was happening.  I went to bed only to find out that had I looked outside my window before turning out the light, I probably would have seen it.

Now, this might not seem like a big deal to you but, I’m the mom that woke her kids up in the middle of the night to watch meteor showers. I consider the moon my friend and I look for her every night when I take my dog out for one last pee. Seeing her shining in the night sky helps me feel like I’m a part of the universe and something bigger than myself.

When I realized how easy it would have been to watch the eclipse, I was disappointed. I wondered how I had so easily dismissed something that was important to me. I’d broken a promise to myself without really noticing.

How many promises are we breaking?

And that got me thinking a lot about how often we, as women, make promises to ourselves only to break them. And then we feel bad about all the ways we’re not showing up for ourselves.

Here’s the cycle—let me know if it feels familiar:

• You make a promise —I’ll exercise more, I’ll drink less, I’ll read more, I’ll rest when I’m tired, or I’ll check out the lunar eclipse— the list goes on…

• Then someone needs your help, or you tell yourself you “should be” doing something else, or you just ignore the promise you made

• The promise is broken

• And here come the critical, shaming parts that tell you all the ways you’re failing yourself, letting yourself down

Connect With Your Inner Wisdom

Well, it doesn’t have to be this way. We can shift this pattern. We can make our promises something we value and hold sacred, AND we can treat ourselves with more compassion and kindness if/when we don’t get it right.

I believe that when we keep promises to ourselves, we feel more whole, we connect with our inner wisdom, and we rebuild trust in ourselves. Because we’re lovingly taking care of our needs and desires.

If this sounds like something you’ve been looking for and if you’d like to live a more fulfilled life created through intentional choices, I’d love to talk to you! You can book a 30-minute discovery call here.

Elizabeth Cush is a women’s life coach, a therapist, and the creator and host of the Woman Worriers and Awaken Your Wise Woman podcasts. She’s also the founder of Progression Counseling in Annapolis, Md and has been featured in these major publications. Elizabeth helps women bring forth their inner gifts and live with more authenticity, ease and purpose. Click here if you'd like to know more about working with Elizabeth.

Photo by @iankeefe—Unsplash