Remember when people used to say, “I give you my word”? Nowadays it seems we’ve become accustomed to the worthlessness of words, of people saying they’re going to do something and then not coming through. As much as I believe in the power of words, I’ve certainly also been guilty of not following through on my word.
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There’s always a reason why we can’t or don’t do what we say we’re going to do, some ridiculous excuse about being too busy or the million small impediments that would have made it too inconvenient. Going out of one’s way take effort, after all.
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But it sure is painful to be on the receiving end of a broken promise. Anybody who has ever been stood up knows how true this is. As does any child who still dares to hope, even knowing that the chances of mom or dad keeping their promise are slim to none.
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But what is worse than all that is a promise made to yourself, and then broken: a promise to finish writing an essay, to ride the exercise bike every morning, to stop smoking or drinking, to leave a bad relationship. You feel awful, worse than awful, as though you’ve killed a small piece of your soul.
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A few years ago I signed up for a program called #becauseisaidiwould. They sent me notecards on which I was to document my promises. I filled out ten notecards and, to my shock and disappointment, promptly broke each of the promises. What I learned from that experience is that I was better at keeping my promises to others than I was at keeping my promises to myself. Since then, I have worked hard to change that. I am extremely committed to it—especially now. It seems simple enough, doesn’t it? How marvelous this world would be if everyone kept their promises!
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How committed are you to doing the things you’ve said you would? How will you begin to keep your work?
#keepyourword #becauseisaidiwould ##beimpeccablewithyourword tshirtessays #lifewithdanquah 📸: @koramadrama
Gospel.