Your Word is your Bond

On By AndreiIn #personal, Daily Prompt, Discover, Inspire, life, Motivational, Postaday, Thoughts & Quotes

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Do you think before you make a promise to someone? What if you can’t deliver on your word? Does it really matter? The world isn’t going to come to an end, is it? Well, actually no, but have you considered . . .

Many people are pretty casual about making promises. As a result, promises are frequently made at the drop of a hat with no real intention of keeping them. “Let’s do lunch,” “I’ll call you later,” and “I’ll be there in five minutes” are all examples of throwaway promises that are frequently made but seldom kept. However, this casual attitude can have real consequences.Think about it — when someone else breaks a promise to you, or gets caught in a lie, doesn’t that make you feel violated or cheated?  You can’t help wondering whether you were wrong to ever trust that person.

There was a time when keeping your word held special significance. We took great pride in being of good character. Personal integrity was both expected and valued. That was a time when everyone knew each other’s family, and you wouldn’t do anything that would cast a shadow on your family’s good name. It was a time when integrity was instilled in children at a very early age and was viewed as instrumental in achieving success. The truth is, our world may have changed, but the importance of integrity has not. While we may not know everyone in our own town, the world is still smaller than you think. Create some bad news and you’ll learn this for yourself.

Every time you give your word, you’re putting your honor on the line. You’re implying that others can place their trust in you because you value integrity and would never let them down. It goes without saying that if you don’t live up to your word, you may end up tarnishing your credibility, damaging your relationships, and defaming your reputation. Most importantly, you’ll be letting yourself down.

But . . . when you operate with complete integrity, what you say will be taken at face value, your intentions will be assumed honorable, and your handshake will be as good as a contract. Most importantly, you can take great pride in the standards that you’ve set for yourself and sleep well at night knowing that your conscience is clear. As for others . . . just when they think they’re fooling the world, they’ll realize that they’re only fooling themselves. A promise is a promise after all.

What do you think? Are people too casual about making promises?

 

38 thoughts on “Your Word is your Bond”

  1. Can definitely be pretty frustrating when people flake or cancel at the list minute for something when it seemed that they had committed previously. I see it less now than I used to. I tend not to remain friends with people who do that often.

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    1. Yes. People are sometimes too casual with their promises and think it’s okay if they miss out on them.
      The issue, I believe, is that we are no longer really connecting properly with each other at least even to a level where we are mindful of our words during conversations. We make small talks with “small” promises.
      Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

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  2. Oh! I liked the phrase ” throw away promises” you used, and I find people making it all the time. They are so casual and hollow about it. I somehow get put off by such attitude. At times I feel a kind of misfit in today’s society where I still like to live by my word.
    A very relevant article Andrei and very well articulated.

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    1. Thank you Radhika 🙂 Apparently nowadays, many have become too used in putting out throw away promises, forgetting that such are still promises being offered up.
      Glad to know that you remain one of those who still try their best to keep their words 🙂

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  3. I Loved this Post Andrei,You have written things in a very righteous and certain manner,Value of Integrity still alive,and that is the most awarding asset of one’s Character..and Yes,Promises are too Casual these days,That is why now I don’t make promises,I make Commitments..😊

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    1. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the subject Tanu.
      I also believe that “commitment” is the appropriate word. When someone commits to something it means that that something has value to him/her.
      In essence, our words (promises) represent us to others – it is our bond. So we must take heed and exercise caution in giving out promises, others might hold on too tightly on such in their hopes that we will deliver.

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  4. Accountability seems to be going by the wayside these days and it is sad. We need to make every effort possible to say what we mean and mean what we say when we give our word either implied or spoken. We are trying to do this in our lives.

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    1. Exactly the point! It’s great to know that many people are still trying their best to live by their words and deliver their promises. Due to many reasons, it became one of the most overlooked defining virtue in our society today.
      Thank you for reading and commenting. I appreciate it. 🙂

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  6. It’s for this reason that I don’t make a habit of promising things. People close to me know that if I promise something, I mean it. I’ve probably only said it to my wife around 3 times in 10+ years of marriage. One of those times was when I said ” I do”…

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  8. I hate it when people breaks their promises…especially when I have high hopes on those promises. To me, not fulfilling what you’ve promised intentionally is tantamount to lying. When I say something I’d do… I make sure to do it EVEN if I may take a while…

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    1. Awesome Nina! Our words represent us to other people. It is our bond, guaranteeing how much or less we value those we offer such promises. I really look up to people who have this kind of conviction. That though we are human and doomed to make mistakes, however I consider that promises fall outside the realm of error, as all that we can promise we can deliver. Unless you’re a hopeless romantic promising the moon to a beloved hahaha.
      Thank you, Nina! Always a pleasure seeing you here 😉

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      2. Reading this made me think of a belief that I hold regarding promises. I agree promises are outside the realm of error because I promise is something I believe you keep even when you no longer WANT to keep it and so because of that a promise is a heavy thing and should be considered carefully. A promise may be something you fulfill out of want but once you make the promise I believe it becomes an obligation, a duty to follow through. It enslaves you in a way and I believe there are only two ways of getting out of a promise and that is death and if the person you made the promise to releases you from that promise ONLY AFTER YOU HAVE TRIED YOUR BEST TO FULFILL IT and are in agreement. Thank you for this thought provoking comment and addition to your post.

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        1. Well, that’s a thought. I agree, a promise should not be taken lightly. We’ve probably given heavy-life-long promises which might be a little bit hard to live by than those minute-short-term ones we’ve made however both still fall under one category — a promise. And as much as we want all promises made to us fulfilled so thus the other end we’ve made our promises too expects, unless otherwise compromises were set, as you’ve pointed out two excellent opt out options 😉👍

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    1. Thank you, Ana! As much as we strive in other areas of our lives, we must also make every effort on this area- to be men and women of our words. How we are keeping with our promises speaks a lot about our character.
      Glad you liked the post! Thank you for dropping by and for the follow. Appreciate it 😃

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    1. Thank you for sharing your heart 👍 Yeah, I have to admit that I’ve falling short of my promises countless to times before. However, I must say that mustn’t be the case. A promise is a promise and must be respected. That even a simple promise (at times) matters most to other people – we just don’t know what they’re going through, it might be helpful or devastating to them depending on their circumstances.
      Thank you for reading 🙂❤ Appreciate it.

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