Of all the promises we make, the most important ones will be the promises we make to ourselves and how we plan on keeping them. Here are 10 promises you should make to yourself today.

You probably wouldn’t dream of not keeping a promise you made to someone else. Yet you may break promises to yourself all the time. Think of all those New Year’s resolutions you made and then dropped.

Whether you planned to start exercising or losing weight or learning something new, you probably let it fall by the wayside without much thought. You can not take care of anyone if you do not take care of yourself. You can start by making these 10 promises and follow each of them.

1. Listen to What Your Body and Mind Are Telling You

Your body will tell you when you need to slow down. If you have aches and pains or feel fatigued, that is usually a sign you need to take it easy. You might just need 20 minutes to talk to a friend, get some exercise in or meditate. In addition to staving off anxiety and disease, you’ll find your life transformed for the better.

2. Live Your Own Life

Too often, people end up living the lives of their families or others expect instead of following their hearts. However, you can never be happy like this. You must find what you want and live your life to follow your own vision. This is one of the most important promises you can make.

3. Smile Daily

Studies show that when you smile more, you feel better. Even if you do not want to smile, it can have that effect. A smile not only helps you to have more energy and reduce your stress but also to interact with others. Keeping this promise means you will be healthier and happier.

4. Know That Relationships Come and Go

Not every relationship is meant to last forever, from best friends to people who fall in love with you, to business partners. You may feel disappointed when people leave you. However, you can rephrase this loss. Remember that everything has a beginning and an end.

When there is no time for someone in your life, that person will continue to move, but you can still keep the good memories and what you have learned from them. Promise yourself that you will do this instead of pining for the people you have lost.

5. Keep a Genuine Friend Close

Your true friends will get you through life. Yes, you’ll be doing a lot of the heavy lifting on your own. After all, you are entirely responsible for your own happiness. But, through thick and thin, it’s sweet to have a sidekick you can trust no matter what.

This is the girl who will be straightforward with you when it comes to advising on love and life. She’ll send you the most perfect memes on Monday mornings and has likely been around since day one. Make a promise to yourself that you’ll keep her close, and be the best friend you can be to her, too. After all, friendships, like relationships, should never be one-sided.

6. Acceptance of Change

When you review the above list, you might need to accept that you are going to have to make some big changes in your life. This could mean ending some relationships and facing challenges you did not expect, but the impact on your life will be incredible.

If you write all of these down in a promise journal along with your personal take on each item, you can go back to it whenever you struggle with change and remind yourself to stay on course and keep your promises to yourself.

7. Learn From Your Mistakes

Like Hannah Montana said in “Nobody is Perfect”, “Everyone makes mistakes”. So in your 20s, promise yourself that you’ll stop being so scared of messing up, and learn from your failures instead. The truth is that every time one door closes, another one opens. Success takes getting knocked down seven times and then standing up eight. It’s what makes your life story so sweet, even though at the time it may feel like you’ve hit rock bottom.

You could choose to let those moments that are undeniably human completely change your course in life, or you could use them to build a foundation for something better. What’s it going to be?

8. Push Your Boundaries

Promise yourself that you will live a good life. You will never discover your hidden talents as long as follow the old familiar paths, but if you get out of that, there is no limit to what you can do. It is the people who do not recognize limits that live the most extraordinary lives, and sticking with this promise means you will be one of them.

9. Move On From the Past

You can acknowledge your past without being burdened by it. What you have learned from past experiences will always be with you and help you make a better future. Promise yourself to accept your past, integrate it into your future and never look back.