I’m storing some paintings for a friend. One of them just didn’t fit in the closet, so she was going to take it back and find another spot for it. Without looking at it, I said, “Let’s hang it up. I don’t know where I have any spaces, but let’s hang it up.” Turns out that the perfect spot is in my studio. Turns out the painting is called My Promise.

And we were going to put it in a closet—an attic closet! How ironic, and how sadly common, that we take our promises and store them in a closet.

Take your promises out of the closet. Look at them. Promises to keep, yes? And perhaps some to let go. Either way, they don’t belong in the closet.

It could be that some of your promises just don’t work any more. What’s changed, so that the promise is no longer appropriate? Acknowledge it, and do what you need to do to move forward. (Easier said than done, but important nonetheless.)

What are the promises you’ve made? To whom did you make the promises? Look especially closely at your promises to yourself. Bring them out in the open, and smile at them.

Keep your word, and see if that doesn’t improve your life.