Each winter brings with it more than just cold temperatures. It also carries a quiet inner dialogue that often goes unnoticed: the conversation of excuses.
“When the weather gets better, I’ll start.”
“When I have more energy, I’ll get back to training.”
“When this phase passes, I’ll resume my projects.”
Not to mention if we have small children and we’re navigating the winter holidays as many families are doing right now. Thus, almost without realizing it, we begin postponing what we declare to be important.
The cold stops being just a weather condition and becomes an explanation that justifies our inaction. Yet the relevant question is not what happens outside, but what happens inside us when we give up, even temporarily, the commitments we have undertaken with our own lives.
From ontological coaching we observe that human beings do not act solely based on circumstances. In fact, we act primarily based on the interpretations we build about them.
Two people may go through the same winter. One finds reasons to stop. The other finds reasons to reorganize. The difference is not the temperature; it lies in the inner conversation each one sustains.
We live in an era that constantly invites us to react. Everyday demands, economic uncertainty, technological acceleration, and information overload drain much of our energy. In that context, abandoning our personal commitments may seem reasonable. What is worrying is when that renunciation becomes a habit.
Thus, every time we fail to keep a promise we made to ourselves, something erodes. It isn’t always visible. It doesn’t always hurt immediately. Yet, gradually, our personal trust—the ability to recognize ourselves as people who honor our word—begins to weaken.
And a word is more than a mere collection of sounds. Language shapes reality. With it we declare goals, establish relationships, assume responsibilities, and design possible futures.
Therefore, reclaiming one’s commitment to oneself does not require making grand transformations overnight. It involves asking ourselves again what is truly important and identifying small acts we can sustain, even when conditions aren’t ideal.
Perhaps we cannot accomplish everything we had planned. Most likely, we can do something: an outstanding call; a short walk; a necessary conversation; a page written; a lesson resumed.
Because discipline does not consist of waiting for perfect motivation. It consists of acting with purpose, even when motivation fluctuates. In that sense, perhaps the real challenge of this winter is not enduring the cold. Perhaps it is preventing our excuses from freezing our dreams.
From the AACOP (Argentine Association of Ontological Coaching) we promote a culture rooted in responsibility, awareness, and continuous learning. We believe that every person possesses the capacity to review their conversations, broaden their perspective, and generate new possibilities for action for themselves and their community.
Because leadership begins long before guiding others. It begins in the relationship each person builds with their own word. And it is precisely on the coldest days, when comfort invites us to pause, that there arises an extraordinary opportunity: to remember who we said we wanted to be.
Source: María Ivonne Orquera is a Professional Ontological Master Coach. First Vice President of the Argentine Association of Professional Ontological Coaching (AACOP)
