“Keep your word and your promises, become reliable.”
Reliability is a fundamental habit that profoundly influences your professional and personal effectiveness. It means keeping the promises and commitments you make, both to others and to yourself.
Why reliability is important
When you become reliable:
- You build trust in personal and professional relationships
- You simplify your life by eliminating the mental load of managing unkept promises
- You get more support from others when you need it
- You reduce stress and anxiety related to pending commitments
- You strengthen your self-esteem by keeping your word to yourself
How to develop the habit of reliability
1. Be selective in your commitments
The first step to being reliable is not promising too much. Before saying “yes” to something:
- Carefully reflect if you can really keep that promise
- Check your calendar and your current commitments
- Assess if you have the necessary resources (time, energy, skills)
- Consider the consequences of keeping or not keeping that promise
2. Take note of every commitment
Every time you commit to doing something, note it down immediately:
- Use your collection system (notebook, app, etc.)
- Don’t rely on memory
- Include specific details: what you promised, to whom, by when
- Regularly review your commitments during your weekly review
3. Learn to say “no” kindly
Saying “no” is better than making a promise you won’t keep:
- “I’d like to help you, but at the moment I have other commitments that require my attention”
- “I can’t guarantee quality work by that deadline”
- “I can help you with part X, but not with part Y”
- “Not at this time, but I could in the future”
4. Communicate proactively
If you realize you won’t be able to keep a promise:
- Alert the person concerned as soon as possible
- Honestly explain the situation without excessive excuses
- Propose an alternative solution or a new deadline
- Acknowledge the impact of your change of plans
5. Honor your commitments to yourself
Commitments to yourself are as important as those to others:
- Treat the promises you make to yourself with the same respect
- Prioritize your personal goals and habits
- Recognize and celebrate when you keep promises to yourself
- Analyze what went wrong when you don’t succeed
Overcoming obstacles to reliability
Overestimating future availability
We tend to think we’ll have more time in the future than we actually do:
- Add a 50% “buffer” to your time estimates
- Before committing, concretely visualize when and how you’ll perform the activity
- Consider what might go wrong or take more time
Difficulty refusing
If you find it hard to say no:
- Prepare some standard phrases to politely refuse
- Remember that saying no to something means saying yes to what’s already on your agenda
- Take time (“I’ll let you know by tomorrow”) rather than committing immediately
Too many commitments already made
If you’re already overloaded:
- Make a complete inventory of all your current commitments
- Renegotiate deadlines where possible
- Delegate what you can
- In extreme cases, cancel some less important commitments after honestly communicating
Practical implementation
To implement this habit:
- For the first week, limit new commitments and focus on completing existing ones
- For the second week, start keeping a record of all your commitments and kept promises
- For the third week, practice saying “no” or “I’ll let you know” instead of committing immediately
- For the fourth week, create a system to regularly check your commitments and ensure you keep them
Remember that reliability is built over time. Each kept promise strengthens your reputation and your self-esteem. Every time you keep your word, you become a bit more the person you want to be.
