What Are The Best Responses When Others Break Promises?

What are the best ways to respond to others when they do not keep their promises?  Clearly, responses like anger, resentment and recrimination are counterproductive.  What kinds of positive choices are available? A basic first step is to appeal to the core values that may have been the foundation for the promise in the first […]

How Well Do You Keep Promises To Yourself?

Each of us has made and subsequently broken promises to ourselves about all kinds of habits, behaviors and thoughts. Exercise, diet, relationships and money are among the key areas where we humans have promised to do or not to do something – and we have found ourselves making excuses and breaking our promises. It’s been […]

Implications Of Oaths And Vows

Oaths and vows are “bigger than life” promises.  Presumably, the consequences of breaking a vow or an oath are larger than that of breaking a “mere promise.” Have you been able to make a distinction among agreeing, promising and vowing / making an oath?  What are the practical implications of vows and oaths?  Should we […]

Promises And Personal Reputation

Making promises can be a powerful ingredient of personal growth as long as promise-making is done in good faith with a complete intention to honor the promise.  We’ve talked in Study Hall about the definition of a brand (in business) as a set of promises, and there is similarity in how promise-making affects one’s personal […]

An Oath Is A Promise Made In The Presence Of A Diety

The word “promises” is a word that is more often used in our culture than “oath.” An oath is a powerful promise typically made in the presence of a Diety. Thus, an oath has the added consideration of the inclusion of a higher power as and when conceived by the person making the oath. How […]