How good is your word
August 2010
By Anil Bhatnagar
Do you deliver on your promises?
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The ability to keep your promises to yourself, and others, measures your will power. It is also the index of trust that others and we have on us (Will Power=Word Power). Given below are eleven statements. You need to read them, and ask if they describe you truly. Tick if they are true for you, and leave them unmarked if they are not. Do not read the answers before you finish the quiz! Do not fall into the temptation of ticking the statements that you wish could be true for you but are not yet so. Be as ruthlessly honest as you can be. You have no one to impress with the results of this quiz. You may have difficulty digesting your responses compared with the ideal ones given here. I have therefore provided an explanation for each one of them in the end.
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S. No. |
Tick those you find to be true |
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1 |
I feel low about myself for not keeping my word, only when I commit sincerely. Breaking hollow promises therefore does not make me feel low. Therefore, the secret is to avoid making promises, and never mean them if at all you make them. |
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2 |
Successful people are not straightforward. They show their willingness by making promises enthusiastically, and later make a convincing excuse, if they do not want to do something. This way they keep good relations, and get away without compromising on what they do not want to do. |
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3 |
Keeping your word is a habit, and wise people decide whether to keep their word or not, depending upon the circumstances they are in. |
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4 |
Every time I am able to keep my word, I feel proud and great about myself. Every time I am not able to keep my word, I feel robbed of something in terms of self-esteem and inner strength. |
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5 |
It is often difficult to confront and negotiate on what is reasonable for us, in terms of a transaction (how much work we can do, and in return of what), but it is better to be bad in the beginning than to be worse later. |
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6 |
If we are determined, sincere, and honest in our intentions, we manage to fulfil what we commit to ourselves or to others, most of the time. |
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7 |
When we do not want to do a thing, God always helps us by proving that our excuses are true. |
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8 |
Man can only try. It is not in his hands, to be actually able to do anything. So always say, “I will try” instead of, “I will do it.” |
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9 |
When you always mean what you say, and do what you speak, your words have the power to materialise themselves. |
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10 |
Words, when constantly repeated with complete attention, sincerity, and faith, become all that we could |
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11 |
Words are words. They do not have any such powers. |
Interpretation: Ideally speaking, statements 4 to 7, 9, and 10 are the ones that you should have ticked because 1 to 3, 8, and 11 are unfavourable ones.
• Out of the total of eleven, if you find one to three of your statements matching with the ideal responses: You need to wake up and begin to develop your willpower by being careful in making promises to yourself and others and uphold them once you give them.
• If you find four to six of your statements matching with the ideal responses: You have average willpower. People are not sure if they can depend on you.
• If you find seven to nine of your statements matching with the ideal responses: You are quite a dependable person and have above average willpower.
• If you find nine to eleven of your statements matching with the ideal responses: Congratulations! You possess an exemplary willpower and dependability already.
The explanations:
Statement 1 is unfavourable (By definition, a promise cannot be hollow or insincere. An insincere promise is as absurd as the term ‘Dark Light’).
Statement 3 is unfavourable
(Keeping our word ought not to depend on the circumstances. When we really cannot keep our word, we ought to convey our inability to the person concerned, as early as possible, so that he could make other arrangements.)
Statement 4 is correct
(It is self-explanatory. Kindly read the explanation for statements 6 and 9 also)
Statements 2 and 5 are unfavourable
(Many people do not say ‘No,’ to avoid a prolonged discussion, and later cook up an excuse to save their face. This, however, stops the person from planning realistically. As life tends to hold a mirror for us, you can expect to be on the receiving end of the same tactics. Kindly also see the explanations for statements 6, 7 and 9)
Statement 7 is unfavourable
(Excuses are intentions to run away from a thing, which we do not want to get involved with. They are received by the universe, as an appeal, to be protected from having to do something, while looking authentic. The universe responds by providing you with certain limiting situations you can hide behind)
Statement 8 is unfavourable
(Our beliefs decide the outcomes of our efforts, to a great extent. The word ‘try’ describes a doubt or a weak belief. When we begin something with a doubt, we are actually starting with a self-fulfilling prophecy).
Statements 6 and 9 are correct
(Every agreement that we make is never with the other person, but with ourselves, and therefore every time we break our word, we weaken ourselves, our willpower, and our ability to manifest our desires, diminishes with every failure, to uphold our word.)
Statement 10 is correct. Statement 11 is wrong (Words are vibrations, which tend to become the outcomes that they describe).
Anil Bhatnagar, an IITian, apart from being a corporate trainer on behavioural skills to over 50 leading companies of the nation, is a motivational speaker, a personal growth coach, a reiki teacher, a painter, a columnist with Times of India, and an ISTD award-winning author of five internationally acclaimed books. http://www.anilbhatnagar.com