Promises

Have you ever broken a promise to yourself? I’d bet the answer is yes. I sure have. We break promises to ourselves all the time: having just one more drink when we said we wouldn’t, not exercising when we said we would, watching just one more show when we wanted our bedtime to be earlier, going along with someone else’s opinion on something that defies our values so we can fit in a little better. All these micro-betrayals tell us that we can’t trust what we say. They are all forms of self-betrayal.

Nick and I attended Infatuation’s 16th anniversary this week. The party was held at Veselka.

I started thinking about promises today as I faced the fact that I have a decent amount of homework due by midnight for my Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, and I only started working on it tonight. I gave my weekend to my children, as usual, and started feeling under the weather last night. I thought about not writing this e-mail, because you would all understand and probably wouldn’t care if I skipped a week.

But then I thought about how breaking that promise would break the trust I’ve built with myself over the past two years. I haven’t missed a week in almost two years, despite being tired and maxed out from running the 9+1 to qualify for the 2026 marathon, being my children’s weekend Uber driver, and juggling shop duties. Not once. So I couldn’t skip today, even though my brain started to melt at the prospect of getting everything done while still under the weather.

Images from the Infatuation party. I was inspired to hear one of the founders talk about the media company's beginnings and take stalk of what it has become today. Check my post-script to read a quick overview of their growth.

These e-mails have always been about self-discipline—about writing something each week. I’m happy when I write something that resonates with you, and when I don’t hear anything that’s okay, too, because the goal was to build a discipline of putting words to this digital paper. It’s more about showing up than perfect wordsmithing or even sharing the most poignant thought.

Consistency wins over perfection. So I’m keeping it short today, because I do need to get back to my homework. These big goals and visions for Sugar Hill Creamery are not going to write themselves. But I’m hoping this thought inspires you to keep whatever promise is most important to you right now. The worst person you can betray is yourself.

I have a lot of work to do in the promise departments of sleep, exercise, and yelling at my children. But I’m proud my writing promise is still intact, a hundred and one weeks later.

Petrushka

Your Local Ice Cream Lady & Life/Business Coach

P.S. In 16 years, a side project between two music execs has turned into a large food reviewing business. That is the story of Infatuation. Read this very short overview of their growth here.