Would you like to change your life forever? Maybe, or maybe not, but if you follow the following four agreements it will certainly have an impact. In Don Miguel Ruiz’s book, The Four Agreements, he lays out four simple rules by which to live our lives that will reduce suffering and enhance the joy we feel in all that we do. Hooked yet?
The Four Agreements are:
- Be impeccable with your words. Choose your words carefully because they are magical in that they can create and destroy. How many times have you wished you had an “un-do” button regarding something you said without thinking through the consequences of your remarks? Hurt feelings and missed opportunities abound as a result of a careless word spoken. On the other hand, a few well chosen words spoken at the right moment can lift up and brighten someone’s day.
- Don’t take it personally. In reality, it is not about us although we often think it is. Although we would like to think the world revolves around our priorities, it doesn’t. When we take anything personally, we give our power away and allow others to determine our sense of self. It is seldom, if ever, about us.
- Don’t make assumptions. How many misunderstandings have started when we made an assumption about what another person said or did? Later, when we find out the truth behind the action, we are ashamed of our response. This grief occurs because we didn’t take time to ask or understand. We just made an assumption. How many wars have been fought over assumptions? How many people have died because of assumptions?
- Always do your best. If we always do our best, there is no guilt and no blame. When we have done all that we can do to the best of our ability, what else can we ask of ourselves? By always striving to do our best, we can be positive that we have done all that we could.
Following these four simple agreements will propel you and your organization to a new level of performance and give you a sense of peace in your life that we all wish to achieve.