Thursday, January 31, 2013

Commitment, Hope and Trust

“When you make a commitment, you create hope. When you keep a commitment, you create trust.”
— John C. Maxwell
The centrepiece of connection is commitment. When we have made our commitment plain, and we journey with people in realising our commitments, we hold good on our promises, intimacy is born, and relational life flourishes. Connection is assured.
The practical byword of love is connection. Where we have connection we have love, but what seems so simple rarely, if ever, is.
Connection lives and breathes on hope-inspired trust, but dies at the failing of commitment.
Recognising the Hope Created in Making Our Commitments
Whether we like it or not, when we promise something, we install hope in the hearts of others. People begin to look to us to back up what we said with our actions.
It’s not their fault if we don’t carry through. Of course, it’s so much easier to make a bold and rash promise and not fulfil that promise.
We need to recognise the hope we are creating in the making of our commitments.
It’s always good to acknowledge the power of hope we create in making promises, for the promises we make only we can keep. And it’s never good for others when we devastate the hope we create.
The Value of Trust in Keeping Our Commitments
Trust is not something to be messed with.
Once we have betrayed somebody’s trust we may never earn another opportunity at being trusted again. Bearing this in mind, we hold the trust we have on loan very preciously. We keep our commitment, or, if we must break it, we renegotiate; communication is the key as we reset expectations, always extending a healthy portion of the vulnerable authenticity in our interaction. People are happy to renegotiate with honest people.
When we recognise the value of trust in keeping our commitments, and we value our commitments, because we value trust, we never break commitments lightly, if at all. We make good on the tired cliché, “my word is our bond.”
Keeping our commitments is the final frontier of integrity.
Being relied upon as a go-to person who can be trusted is one of highest human honours. The demeanour of integrity clings to us and is recognisable through us when we keep our promises.
***
Promises create hope and commitment sees the promise through. Trust is the benefactor. Our integrity stands or falls on the promises we make and those we keep. Connection lives and breathes on hope-inspired trust, but dies at the failing of commitment.
It’s better not to raise expectation when there is even the remotest of chances that hopes will be dashed. But when we promise we ought to keep your promises.
© 2013 S. J. Wickham.




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