You probably fall into one of two categories on this one. Either you have a clear, guiding principle on keeping promises and so your answer is a resounding YES, or you don't. Try as you may, very few people can actually achieve keeping their promises without some kind of concerted effort and a specific awareness of this goal. You may have the best intentions and may even take initial steps toward adhering to the promise, but then something else comes up and you find yourself either double-booked, cancelling on short notice, not showing up, not following through or simply not doing what you said you would do when you said you would do it. And that makes you feel bad about yourself. Not a winning strategy.
Try this instead:
The Two Best-Ever Super Simple Strategies for Keeping Your Promises
- Never say yes to something unless you are certain that you can do it.
- Do everything you say that you are going to do.
These two powerful principles will nag you when you are about to say yes to something that should be no. They will badger you when you are about to promise that you will do something in less time than you can realistically do it. And they will plague you when you are trying to justify not doing something you already promised to do. That is their job.
Start small (like calling people back when you say you will and arriving early for meetings) and be patient with yourself. Then move onto the big stuff (like only promising clients and prospects what you can realistically do for them) and give yourself credit for working on being a person who keeps their promises.
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