The concept and importance of understanding “my word” was first introduced to me at a personal growth seminar a few years back. The instructor at the seminar tasked me with making three phone calls, that night, to ask people in my life if they felt they could count on my word. Did they trust what I said? Could they count on me?

That evening, I called my son, mother and father. To my surprise, their answers were very similar. They said that I usually keep my word when its important to me, but not always. I was asking for the truth and that is what I got, although it stung a little. I’m glad that I did this exercise and learned there was room for improvement. I want to be a woman of my word, so I work diligently to keep my commitments to other people. I want others to be able to count on me.

However, it wasn’t until years later, when I read The Dark Side of the Light Chasers by Debbie Ford and listened to Confidence 101 by Brian Johnson that I realized that keeping my word means more than keeping commitments to others. It also plays a significant role in my confidence, trust in myself and how likely I believe I will achieve the things I want to achieve.

For example, what happens when I say I am going to be on time, exercise or meet a deadline? If I continually keep my word and follow through with what I say, then I will have complete trust in myself that these things will happen in the future. The more I master keeping my word with small everyday items, the more confident I will be tackling larger goals in my life. It spreads across all areas in my life, and I am able to make commitments to others and myself with total confidence.

It has become routine for me to check in with myself, my children and my accountability partners to see how I’m doing in this area.  I challenge you to ask yourself and others how you’re doing and if you have room for improvement.  Embrace the feedback you receive because it is a gift!

Love, Heather