Do what you say you are going to do

Please think before you speak: do not offer to do things you are not going to do. Even if your intentions are good, you probably know whether or not you are going to follow through. And even if you intend to follow through, if there is any doubt at all, please don’t say anything. You know what I am talking about. You run into someone, find out that they are going through something (like an illness or a divorce or a sick kid) and you say something like, “Let’s have lunch soon – I will call you,” and then you don’t. You get busy and forget, or you feel awkward and don’t know what you would talk about, or for whatever reason, you just don’t follow through.

Think of it this way – you maybe just threw someone a lifeline, and then, by not doing what you said you were going to do, you reeled it back in. They sit at home, wondering if you are ever going to call, and you don’t.

This seems like a small thing; you think, “it’s no big deal, I am sure she has a lot of people to talk to.” But here’s the thing:  she may not. Maybe everyone thinks just like you, and assumes the same thing, and she is left sitting there alone, with no one to talk to and nothing to look forward to.

And while we are at it – this isn’t true just for people you know are going through things, it’s true for everyone.

Do what you say you are going to do, or don’t say you are going to do it.

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