A few weeks ago, I saw a video by Kerwin Rae titled the value of your word. It made me think about how I used to be one to use my word like monopoly money and not be committed to complete tasks I said I would. However, I’ve realised when it comes to achieving your goals and dreams one thing to always remember is you have to be able to commit fully every step of the way and treat your word like gold.

We speak words to each other daily, but what is the value of agreeing to something?

Not too long ago, a commitment or saying “I give you my word” means people would die before breaking their promise or not completing what they said they would as it was their reputation they were trying to prove. One’s reliability is always on the line when it comes to the things they agree to do and whether they go through with it. This is evident in their personal life, whether its communication with family and friends or in your career where your colleagues and clients instil trust in you.

One of our values at Careerists are that “we deliver what we promise” as you should always stand by your word especially as people are depending on you to follow through with what you say.

Through my coaching I’ve seen how people are not always available to put the steps forward and do things they have agreed to because they might want to focus on other things first. This happens in life, we always have other priorities that may come in the way of some commitments we’ve agreed to, however, treating it more seriously will help in the flow of our journey as well. This means people will not be so quick to give commitment to things they don’t actually think they will or can see through.

Some tips to work towards giving value in your words are:

1) Ensure you know what your goals are
If you know what you’re aiming towards, then you should do anything to get there. This means if there are opportunities along the way that come up that may not fit your schedule and you may not have time to follow through with, shift your schedule around. There is no better day than today to start working towards your end goal, and if you don’t give it your all, no one else will.

2) Learn to say no
Not every opportunity that comes your way is going to fit you and fit what you are trying to achieve. Impressing people isn’t about the amount of work or opportunities you agree to do, but it’s about how well you are getting it done and we will always work hardest on things that align with our values, beliefs and goals. Remember that if the opportunities don’t align with your end goals, you need to let it go, more opportunities that fit your purpose will come to you in another time.

3) Don’t agree to things that you don’t think you will see through
If you are working towards a goal, then you know all the best steps to get there so don’t take on more if you know you can’t handle it. Treat your word as the most important part of you to give others and don’t hand it out freely if you don’t think it’s going to help you.

4) Commit with your 200% (above and beyond)
During a coaching session I always ask someone how committed they are and any response below 10/10 is followed by them saying they don’t want to put all their eggs in one basket. However, from an employer’s point of view, you should be able to give them more than 10/10 to show that you’re worth keeping in a company and worth the money you’re being paid. When you know something is worth it, you should always give it your all. It’s about the steps you are willing to take to be on top.

Your reputation should be the most important thing for what others think of you and who you are as a person. Great things are waiting on the other side of your valued commitments, you just have to decide what’s worth it and what isn’t. If you don’t give value to your word, you lose the trust of those most important as no one else can change that for you.