Pitfalls Of Promises

 

Our choice between PROMISES versus PITFALLS is a no-brainer BUT here's the catch.  More often, PITFALLS are tied up to those PROMISES via that uncut umbilical cord, believe it OR not.  BUT please DON'T get me wrong.  I'm NOT about to wage a solitary war against PROMISES because through the years, I did make and pledge on multiple PROMISES to myself, to my family, to my close coterie of friends and YES, even to my trusted confidants and colleagues at the workplace.  BUT alas, I have to admit that all throughout, I was as innocent as a pre-school boy that each time I spew out and drip my blood as I swear to a PROMISE, right alongside it are the PITFALLS arising from the PROMISE I just seemed to have etched in stone.  Irony here is that our sheer intent for PROMISES may cause us to be exposed with PITFALLS📗📙📘

We all agree that PROMISES are the very bedrock of forming the foundations of trust within families, teams and organizations.  And WHEN an individual commits to deliver specific outcomes, that PROMISE alone establishes a clear expectation that the receiver [of the PROMISE] can depend on.  That act of keeping PROMISES builds our own credibility and can even foster accountability within ourselves💚💛💜

Before we get lost along the way, let's increase our awareness of the most common reasons WHY some PROMISES fail to be fulfilled:

• OVERPROMISING and/or UNDERESTIMATING
• LACK of CLARITY of a PROMISE
• CHANGING PRIORITIES
• SHIFTING of FOCUS
• INSUFFICIENT SUPPORT STRUCTURE
• UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES
• LACK of ACCOUNTABILITY

A cynic might blurt:  The way to avoid PITFALLS is NOT to make PROMISES.  BUT that is a very regrettable [if NOT dreadful] proposition because that may lead to a mindset that is NOT only complacent and laidback BUT we might end up with someone with NO forward-looking attitude in life and instead, he's willing to even loose by default, by NOT even making a PROMISE at least to his very own self.  As we grapple with multifarious kinds of challenges in life, this could be the last nail on the coffin [to express things figuratively]😡😡😡

Our takeaway:  PROMISES are always a critical component in our life.  Take that away from life, we could end up like a seed planted in the parches deserts in the Middle East [except if that is a cactus].  And, even as PROMISES can be fragile enough, understanding the common PITFALLS of PROMISES can help us to proactively 'nip things in the bud'.  Frankly, there are more UPSIDEs of PROMISEs even if those PITFALLS may arise.  That's WHAT we should be up to dude!!!