Keep Your Agreements
19/01/13“Your life works to the degree you keep your agreements.” Werner Erhard
When we look at the world around us today more and more people do not keep their agreements. People casually give their word – and then casually break it. People know they are going to break the agreement even before agreeing to them. People enter agreements easily because they don’t want to risk confrontation of any kind. When you don’t keep your agreements, you pay both external and internal costs. You lose trust, respect, and credibility with others – your friends, family, your colleagues and customers. And you create messes in your own life and the lives of those who depend on you for getting things done. The personal power that you get from keeping your agreements is worth a whole lot more than a million rand. If you want more self-esteem, self-confidence, self-respect, personal power, mental clarity and energy, then you’ll make keeping your word more important.
Some Tips on keeping agreements
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- Make only agreements that you intend to keep.
Take a few seconds before making an agreement to see if it is really what you want to do.
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- Write down all the agreements you make.
Use your diary and write all your agreements down so that you don’t forget them.
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- Communicate any broken agreement at the first appropriate time.
As soon as you know you are going to have a broken agreement-notify the other person as soon as possible, and then re-negotiate the agreement. This demonstrates respect for other’s time and their needs. It also gives them time to reschedule, re-plan, make other arrangements, and limit any potential damage.
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- Learn to say no more often.
Give yourself time to think it over before making any new agreements.