The Power of Your Word

How good are you at keeping agreements – with yourself? Have you given much time to this question? It deserves a closer look, and we’ll do that today.

In their book “Life 101,” John-Roger and Peter McWilliams pointed out that the agreements we make are always with ourselves – it’s just that sometimes they include other people. In that sense, our agreements are like relationships. All of our relationships are with ourselves, but often they include other people as well. It’s vital that we understand that each of us is the one common denominator in all of our relationships.

Now, your word is one of the most precious things you have. However, many people think very little of breaking their word. This is a mistake for two reasons. First and most obviously, it weakens your credibility with other people, if not destroys it completely. But even more importantly, it weakens your credibility with yourself. It’s a sad state of affairs when you can’t even trust yourself.

When your innermost picture of your credibility, trustworthiness and reliability is weak, you can’t help but act in ways that reflect it. Typically, others pick up on this fairly quickly. So, once you make an agreement and give your word, do everything in your power to keep it. A broken word, like a broken cup, can’t hold much for very long.

When you lovingly keep your word – that is, keep it strong, keep it dependable, and keep it true – you will know the power of accountability. And when you lend this power to a worthy cause that you believe in, its effect will be doubly powerful.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote that trusting yourself is the first secret of success, but how can you trust yourself unless you honor your agreements and keep your word? Trust seems to be a rare commodity in today’s world, but it can be rebuilt. That rebuilding starts within each of us.