| The Power of a Promise By Coleen Mitchell The power of a promise is a crucial in trusting someone. It is the hinge on whether someone will be open and honest with you. Most of the time all you have to do is betray this once and you have lost the trust of the individual involved maybe forever. The effort it takes to build up that trust again is enormous. If you don't agree with me, look at the ramifacations of today's broken promises; divorce, single parent families, higher taxes (HA HA). The damage of a broken promise can range well beyond the individual involved. What does the word "Promise" mean? According to Merrium/Webster's definition it is; 1)A declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified 2) A legally binding declaration that gives the person to whom it was made a right to expect or claim the performance or forebearence of a specified act. When I was young about 8, there was a girl who was about 5 years older then me. She was my hero. I idolized her, went everywhere she went, I was like her little sister. One day she shared a story with me, not anything bad, but she made me promise not to tell anyone. I did. Later that week, one of her friends prodded the information out of me. I knew I did wrong. I went to her and told her. She was so angry at me. She told me she could never trust me again. I was devastated. I had no idea until that day what a broken promise could do. We eventually made up but, we were never as close again. It was after that experience that I vowed not to promise unless I could keep up my end of the bargain. Both in childhood and adulthood, I have seen where the power of a promise is thrown by the wayside. I know that I was guilty of this myself, despite my strong feelings on this subject. People placate others constantly with empty promises. What is not realized is that they are compromising thier own integrity in the process. With each broken promise they chip away at the foundation of their being until there is nothing left. As they tear down their own foundation, they are also creating a stress on someone else's. Teach your children the power of a promise, the value of honesty and integrity. Tell them that living this way at times can be very difficult. Show them how to take one second before making that promise, to think about the consequences of not keeping it, and the impact it will have on the person. Working hard at this you may be fortunate enough to get one of the best compliments around, it is one of the hardest earned and the easiest taken away, Being a person of your word. |