Pause Before You Promise

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What’s your most important promise? I promise this video will change the way you make promises, going forward.

“Dad, do you promise?” When our kids were young, I was reluctant to make promises. And when I did, 100% committed to following through. I didn’t want to confuse my kids, or become untrustworthy.

Words have meaning. Specifically, “promise” comes from the Latin word, “promettre,” meaning “send forth.” When you speak a promise you send forth a message to the future, and the truth of that message reveals your credibility. So please pause before you promise.

What’s your most important promise? The promise you make to your kids? Your spouse? Your employer? Your friends? The promise you make to the almighty?

Obviously those are all significant, yet each of those promises is predicated upon promises you make and keep to yourself. Because those are often unspoken they’re easily broken or dismissed as “conditional.” You’re unaccountable as no one but you knows you even made that promise. Besides, you didn’t have all the info, and circumstances have changed.

When you break promises even once, your intentions lose merit. And it becomes easier to do it again. So, what promises are you making? What promises are you consistently breaking? And what can you begin to do to change that?

1. Stop making empty promises.Don’t double down on wishful intentions, sending forth unreliable messages.
2. Go smaller, not bigger, than build.Keep small promises to you. Use check lists to keep score.
3. Commit with care.Instead of the broad or nonspecific, phrase your promises precisely. Don’t promise timelines you can’t control or what’s beyond your ability to deliver.

Elevate the importance of your promises – to yourself and others. Cultivate the habit to pause before you promise with careful precision. And commit to following through on what you send forth. Until next week, stay Off Balance On Purpose.