KATHMANDU, July 11: “You better keep your promise.”
Oh! The times we’ve heard this from our parents, friends and siblings! It was easy for them to pull on the skin at the base of our neck and state “Promise” when we were trying to emphasize on the truth of what we were saying, and also when we wanted to show our conviction in getting a job done. And somehow that gesture and the word accompanying it made the other person believe in us.
But things change, and people change, too. Nowadays, most of us won’t think twice before prattling out promises. Do you make promises and not keep them? Or do you keep your promises?
Sakin Maharjan, 17, a grade 12 student at Little Angels’ College, says, “The above question makes me laugh since most of the time I never fulfill the promises I make to my parents or my friends. There’s a common saying, ‘Promises are meant to be broken.’ Most of us break our promises. I don’t know why most people don’t fulfill the promises they make, even myself. Are promises just meant to be broken? I don’t know what the answer is but I’m usually not able to keep my promises because of the situations at those times. I wonder why we aren’t able to think before we start making promises to others. I think it’s already become a culture not to keep our promises. There’s no seriousness to it anymore. We’re just asked, ’Will you do it?’ And we go, ‘Yeah, promise. I’ll do it.’ And when the time comes, we just use one word, ‘Sorry!’”
Samikshya Bashishtha shares her opinion on our Facebook page thus: “I find that I break most of the promises I make to myself. I think I’ve promised more than a hundred times that I won’t be late in reaching the place of appointment. But I’ve never kept this promise.”
So why do we make promises with no intention of keeping them? We should try harder to keep up with promises we make to everyone and ourselves. Or just not make any promises at all.
Also through our Facebook page, Abhishek Jha says, “Actually, promises aren’t always sensible. It may favor one but the same can harm another. For example, the promises kept by the beloved can be disliked by parents, and then what can be said? That’s why unwanted promises shouldn’t be made. If any harm can be done to us due to the promises we make, it’s okay to break them. However, promises made to our families are important and not to be broken. Nor should promises made for any official work.”
Never make promises you can’t keep. Instead, say you’ll try. Remember this the next time you slip into your glib promising ways.
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