Non-negotiable

What are your non-negotiables in life?  We have things in life that we stand hard and fast on. Things we will or won’t do.  Things that we will or won’t accept. 

It could be something morally important to you, like never doing drugs or, it could be something that is life or death, like not leaving your three-year-old child home alone. The point is there are things in life you will not budge on.

You put those rules or guidelines in place for a reason. You don’t do drugs because you don’t want to break the law, and drugs are dangerous. You don’t leave your three-year-old home alone because you would never jeopardize the safety of your child.

So why not establish non-negotiables for other areas in your life. Make a rule that is set in stone to help you accomplish a goal.  Set your non-negotiables and stick to them. 

Let’s say you want to work out; make it non-negotiable that you will exercise at least 15 minutes twice a week. Now I know you are thinking one of two things: I don’t need to make a rule for that; or, that is not stringent enough.  But when you are building a new habit or stretching to reach a goal, it is important that you build confidence in your ability to follow through. You need to prove to yourself that you have your own back.

So even if it is something that you think is too easy, making it non-negotiable and following through on it will reinforce the idea that you do what you say you will do, strengthening the habit and making it easier to follow through the next time.

If you set a goal and make the steps required to reach the goal non-negotiable, you will get there. It is that easy.  And it is not that easy because our brains make it hard. When it comes time to do the thing, your brain will throw up all the excuses and reasons not to do it.  But fight for your goal like you would fight to keep your child safe. And each time you honor the rule you put in place, you make it easier to honor that rule the next time.

Not every goal in your life will be something that you want to go to bat so strongly for, but for those things you say are important or you say you really want, why not put some rules in place that will help you achieve them?

Your life, your goals, and your dreams are worth the discipline it takes to achieve them.