What is the value of a word?
On a day similar to today, a teenage girl asks her father, "Dad, can I get a new phone? This one is old now and has problems." The father replies, "I'll get you a new one if you do well on your exams." With this in mind, the girl set out to do her best in her exams. Night after night she stayed up reading, studying, and memorizing book after book. The exams came and went. When her results were revealed she was a bit disappointed. She had not come first in her class. In fact, she came fourth. Her father was also disappointed and decided not to get her the new phone because she had not kept up her end of the bargain. The girl went to her room and cried, feeling not as a failure, but betrayed. She knew within herself that she indeed kept up her end of the bargain. Her father did say "if you do well", not "if you came first". How well did this girl do on her exams? She did well enough to land her an average grade more than what was required for her to be on the honor roll. So then, it wasn't her, but her father who didn't keep to his word.
We see and experience situations similar to this more than a few times in a lifetime, and most of us are even guilty ourselves of having broken promises in the past. One thing is sure to result from this though, and it is that the person on the receiving end will likely not look at you the same as they once did, losing trust, confidence, and respect for the one who didn't stand behind their word. "Only a stupid man would give his word or promise something he knows he can't deliver... It's like respect and trust; it takes a lifetime to get and it takes only one stupid move to lose it."
The importance of keeping promises and backing one's word becomes evident in the development of character traits that will identify a person and what they stand for. It is an individual's responsibility to build and maintain their reputation, but it is easily tarnished with one simple laps in our words and/or actions. The girl from the beginning of this article made it her point of duty not to request anything from her dad in the future, she had effectively blacklisted her father as a person who doesn't keep his word, and should be avoided. Luckily though, her father realized his mistake, apologized and explained to her the reasons that caused him to judge wrongly. He also got her the phone as he had promised.
There are simple steps that can be taken to ensure that we do not make promises that we cannot keep or to keep promises once they have been made. The first and most important would be to think before speaking. Second, be truthful with ourselves and decide whether or not we will be able to keep the promise if it is made. Third, be sincere in making promises and do our best to fulfill them. Fourth and final, stand behind your word!
Our word defines us, and gives others the gateway to understanding who we really are, along with indicating our value and worth. A man without his word is worth no more than the most worthless thing.
References
Real Men Keep Their Word http://www.askmen.com/money/mafioso_60/77_mafia.html
How to Stop Breaking Promises http://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Breaking-Promises
We see and experience situations similar to this more than a few times in a lifetime, and most of us are even guilty ourselves of having broken promises in the past. One thing is sure to result from this though, and it is that the person on the receiving end will likely not look at you the same as they once did, losing trust, confidence, and respect for the one who didn't stand behind their word. "Only a stupid man would give his word or promise something he knows he can't deliver... It's like respect and trust; it takes a lifetime to get and it takes only one stupid move to lose it."
The importance of keeping promises and backing one's word becomes evident in the development of character traits that will identify a person and what they stand for. It is an individual's responsibility to build and maintain their reputation, but it is easily tarnished with one simple laps in our words and/or actions. The girl from the beginning of this article made it her point of duty not to request anything from her dad in the future, she had effectively blacklisted her father as a person who doesn't keep his word, and should be avoided. Luckily though, her father realized his mistake, apologized and explained to her the reasons that caused him to judge wrongly. He also got her the phone as he had promised.
There are simple steps that can be taken to ensure that we do not make promises that we cannot keep or to keep promises once they have been made. The first and most important would be to think before speaking. Second, be truthful with ourselves and decide whether or not we will be able to keep the promise if it is made. Third, be sincere in making promises and do our best to fulfill them. Fourth and final, stand behind your word!
Our word defines us, and gives others the gateway to understanding who we really are, along with indicating our value and worth. A man without his word is worth no more than the most worthless thing.
References
Real Men Keep Their Word http://www.askmen.com/money/mafioso_60/77_mafia.html
How to Stop Breaking Promises http://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Breaking-Promises
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