Promise Fatigue

• I’ll get it to you by the end of the day.
• I’m working on it right now.
• I’ll get it done today.

Even though the word “promise” doesn’t appear in any of these, they still represent a commitment you make to someone else. If you fail to keep your promise, you will disappoint someone or more than one.

But if you fail to keep your promises, eventually, you’ll stop disappointing people. That’s because they no longer expect you to keep your word. Of course, by then, you would have irreparably damaged your reputation – and people will no longer consider you as being reliable.

Before making a commitment, always think about promise fatigue. Setting low but realistic expectations is better than setting high but unrealistic ones.