The First Commitment of the Year: Trust Yourself
As we enter a new year, most professionals and entrepreneurs are focused on goals. Promotions. Product launches. New habits. Bigger milestones.
But before we set a single resolution, there's a deeper question we need to ask:
Can I trust myself to follow through?
Steven Covey, in The Speed of Trust, writes:
“A man who doesn’t trust himself can’t trust others.”
And I would add:
If you can’t trust yourself to keep commitments to yourself, how can you trust anyone else to keep theirs to you?
This isn’t about motivation or willpower—it’s about integrity with ourselves.
🎯 Why Self-Trust is the Hidden Engine Behind Success
We often talk about trust in terms of relationships, teams, leadership, and business deals. But we don’t often talk about the self-trust that underpins all of those things.
You can have all the ambition in the world, but if you don’t trust yourself to execute, follow through, or stay consistent—then even the best strategy falls apart.
Let me give you a real-life example.
🏋🏽♀️ The Resistance Band I Resisted
Not long ago, I told myself I’d start waking up early to exercise before work. I even bought new resistance bands to get me started—color-coded, fresh out of the packaging, full of potential.
You know that feeling, right? “This is the new me.”
Fast forward a few weeks later—I had only managed to wake up early a handful of times. And those resistance bands? They were used twice.
Unless we’re counting the times I stepped over them on my way out the door.
It’s easy to joke about it, but the truth is—those moments aren’t just “skipped workouts.”
They’re broken promises.
And over time, those little breaks in consistency add up to something deeper:
A quiet erosion of self-trust.
🧠 When You Don’t Trust You
When we keep saying we’ll do something—launch that project, set boundaries, change our habits—and then we don’t, we subconsciously start to believe:
“Maybe I’m not reliable.”
“Maybe I don’t follow through.”
“Maybe I’m not capable.”
That’s dangerous. Because when self-trust erodes, we:
Procrastinate more
Second-guess decisions
Feel unworthy of bigger opportunities
Project our lack of trust onto others
🔄 How to Rebuild Self-Trust in 2026
The good news? Self-trust is a muscle. It can be rebuilt.
Here are three ways to start:
1. Keep One Small Promise
Instead of overloading your plate, start with something doable. A glass of water in the morning. Ten minutes of movement. One screen-free hour.
Follow through. Every day. Stack that win.
2. Track the Promises You Do Keep
Create a “Self-Trust Ledger.”
Write down the small promises you keep. See the proof. Train your mind to believe your word again.
3. Focus on Recommitment, Not Perfection
You’ll slip up. That’s life. But instead of spiraling into guilt, practice recommitting—without shame. The fastest way back to trust is showing up again.
💡 2026 Isn’t About More Goals—It’s About More Trust
This year, don’t just plan more.
Become someone who follows through.
Build a relationship with yourself where your word is solid. Where your actions match your intentions. Where you don’t need outside accountability—because you trust you.
And from there?
Your momentum, confidence, and clarity will multiply.
Trust yourself. The rest will follow.
