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This week several events transpired that had me musing upon the power of making and keeping a commitment. Not in a martyr sort of way, but in the way that speaks to your character and your potential. Your reputation and relationship with self and others is built on the foundation of you doing what you say you will do. How do you measure up to your own speech?
In Jack Canfield's book The Success Principles he has a chapter about honoring your commitments. It is well worth reading. In it he uses the example of the commitments his seminar participants make at the beginning and then how quickly they dismiss them. I can't recall the exact details, but it looks something like this. We've all been in seminars where at the start everyone commits to arriving on time at the start of each day and after breaks. Then, the next thing you know it, people are wandering in late. So what happened to commitment? It got dismissed as unimportant. You gave your word and then gave it no merit, no weight, and just carried on without regard to it.
Now this example might seem trivial, but it is a window into a bigger picture. That is - how worthless we have allowed "giving our word" or "giving our commitment" to become. Doing what you say you're going to do is the foundation of integrity. It forms the basis for your relationship with yourself which in turn is the basis for every other relationship you have - personal or professional.
Consider this... when was the last time you:
- Committed to exercising or taking some self-care time but then just plain blew it off?
- Made an appointment with a professional (Dr., coach, repair person, etc.) and then didn't show up?
- Promised a friend of family member you'd do something (return a call, set a date to get together, help with something) and then just didn't?
I'm not saying life doesn't sometimes get in the way. It does. Sometimes for your own good you need to step away from a commitment previously made. Yet it should really be the exception, not the rule and all commitments you have to break should be done directly, be well-communicated, and come with a proposed solution to honor the commitment (rain date, reschedule, replacement, etc.) another way if appropriate. Commitments must be treated with honor if you want to be someone who succeeds and whom others respect and can count on.
Think about this -- what do you think of other people or companies who break their promises to you? Here are a few examples to jog your memory. The employer who commits to flexible work schedules or telecommuting and then doesn't honor that commitment. Or, a company who promises great customer services and "We stand by our product" and then treats you like crap when you have an issue. Perhaps the ever-popular repair person who will come between 8am and 2pm but never shows up until 6pm if at all.
Do you love to be treated like that? Heck no. Yet when you give your commitment to yourself and then break it, you treat yourself that way and undermine your self-confidence. When you give your word to another person and blow it off, you have taught them that they cannot trust or rely on you. Not a recipe for success, right?
Consider these blogger's thoughts on honoring commitments:
7 Tactics to Retain Your Most Valuable Assets:
Treat employees fairly and respectfully. Your employees are your company’s best asset and you must protect and nurture them. Whether you know it or not, you are in the business of growing people. Let them know how valuable their contributions are to the company. Honor your commitments to them. Create a learning environment for them where they, and you, can achieve the highest potential.
The no-nonsense approach in Focus on Performance:
I’m an individual that believes in clear and direct communication, so I’ll spare you the rhetoric and just do what I do best…simplify the complex. You see, the formula for success, what truly differentiates you, is really quite simple…you either PERFORM or your don’t.
The ultimate commitments - the ones we make to ourselves means we must live from the inside out:
You respect yourself so much more when you decide that you are only going to live from the inside out, not ever from the outside appearance of something that of course continuously changes.
You
