Are you a person of your word? Do you do what you say you’re going to do? You may have heard the phrases, “The cheque’s in the mail”, “I’ll call you right back”, “We should meet for coffee sometime”, or “I’ll have it on your desk by the end of the day”.
We may all be guilty of using one of these phrases, while never following through on what we promised. In our society today, people know all the right things to say, but very few people actually stick to their word and deliver what they promised. It’s frustrating, isn’t it?
Why is it important to be a person of your word? For me, the main reason is because it’s a sign of your integrity as a person. Integrity is defined as “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles”. Integrity builds trust and trust builds credibility and credibility builds respect.
So what are some simple ways we can all become better at being people of our word?
Be on time: If you are chronically late to everything, you need to have a look at why. Being late for a meeting or appointment says to the other person that what you had to do is more important than them. I am still working on this one but I realised the reason I ran late so often was because I underestimated how much time I had to be able to get to my destination. If you are always five or 10 minutes late, set your clocks forward five or 10 minutes or adjust how much time you are giving yourself to get to where you need to be.
Do what you say you’ll do: If you’ve promised to call someone back, then do it. If you’ve promised to have something finished by the end of the day, then get it done. And if you can’t do what you’ve promised due to factors beyond your control, then communicate. Explain what happened and set another time and date for it to be done. Keeping quiet when someone is waiting on something from you can be super frustrating. Just think back to a time when someone promised you something, didn’t follow through on it, and then just kept quiet. Really annoying, isn’t it?
Let your word be trusted: One of the greatest compliments you can receive is to be known as a person whose word can be trusted. The world needs more people whose actions line up with their words. Let’s take up the challenge to lead the way in being people of our word.
If you have trouble keeping your word and would like prayer, we would love to chat to you. Knowing and following Jesus Christ gives us the strength and ability to overcome all our struggles and shortcomings. Click on the pop up banner or link below to find out more.