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Your Commitments Are Your Life; Guard Them Zealously
On the concept of the emotional bank account and the importance and the tactics of keeping your word
The single most important thing each of us has in our lives is our relationships. This is true at home, in our communities, and in our work — whatever that work may be.
And though you may not think of it often, your relationship with yourself is just as important as your relationships with others — if not more so. And the very foundation of any of those relationships is trust.
Without trust, there is no strength in the relationship, and you can’t build anything upon it. You need to trust the people you live and work with; and they need to trust you. You also need to trust in yourself.
Keep Track of Your Commitments
Trust is built by honoring commitments. It’s eroded by breaking them. So the most important kind of work each of us does is to keep track of, communicate about, and work on meeting our commitments.
All of the talk about project management, task lists, and managing your email inbox — it’s not just nerdy productivity stuff. It’s the way you manage your commitments — the currency of your life’s important relationships.
