Keeping my word...

January is coming to a close. Did you keep your resolutions, or the other promises you have made to yourself over the years?  I am trying to cut back on coffee…. And it’s a struggle, so I get it.  But whatever that was; breathing more deeply, not hitting ‘snooze”, eating more greens… It’s “just” a matter of keeping our word.   And most of us would say that we keep our word, no?

A great Keynote was done quite a while ago (you can read the whole paper here – that talks about INTEGRITY, and I particularly was drawn to the idea of a cost-benefit analysis of keeping ones word.  At first blush, it sounds so…. dishonourable.   “Should I keep my word, or not?”   But it’s a practical question we face every day.  The paper points out that the best time to ask this question BEFORE giving ones word.  I can’t improve on what they said, so here is a direct quote. 

“When giving their word, most people do not consider fully what it will take to keep that word.   That is, people do not do a cost/benefit analysis on giving their word.
 
In effect, when giving their word, most people are merely SINCERE (well-meaning) or placating someone, and don’t even think about what it will take to keep their word. This failure to do a cost/benefit analysis on giving one’s word is IRRESPONSIBLE.”
 
Once your/my word is given to others, I already believe most of us put a lot of weight on the cost of not keeping it.  Here is what I hope…..

• I hope we all adopt this concept of figuring out the cost of KEEPING it, BEFORE we give it.   It may not change the outcome, but the intent honours the promise
  
• I hope that we give the same value to promises we make ourselves, as we make to others

So, with that off my chest, I am going to get a glass of water.  Because I already have had my coffee for today....