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August 01, 2010 |
[May 26, 2006] This is a very simple statement, yet not so easy to do—Keep your promises. I try to conduct my life in this manner. If you tell someone that you will do something for them, you can’t turn around at the last minute and say, I didn’t do it because it wasn’t convenient. Keeping your promises is also a way to live your life with integrity. That’s why it’s important to be aware of your choice of words, and to live consciously. There were many time that I was not able to keep my promise for example of repaying some money to a friend or colleague, somewhere in the back of my mind I had always intended to repay the debt even if it was years in the future. But that is not a very good way of living. If you consistently live like this you will lose respect and friends. I know I have lost friends because I was not true to my word. It is heartbreaking for both sides.
Especially with children you need to keep your promises. I get so disturbed when I hear parents trying to sooth a child’s temper and the parent says “ I promise—“ Later when the child remind the parent or guardian, it becomes clear that the parent had no real thought to keep the promise. The words were just said to placate the child. The parent, as I remember, thought that his or her child would just forget all about what was promised. But children have a great memory. Especially when they hear the words I PROMISE. Those words sound stronger than any other words in the English language to a child. We have been taught that those words have power and magic.
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