Have you ever told someone you’d do something and then either forgotten about it or were somehow not able to honor it?

Classic lose-lose-lose situation.

When we make a promise or agreement with someone and then don’t keep it, we usually feel bad about it, the other person often is upset with us, plus our reputation in the world (not to mention our self-esteem ) usually suffers from it.

~~~ The Challenge ~~~

I recently participated in a 3-day personal growth workshop where the importance of keeping our agreements was explored. Part of our homework was to keep ALL of our agreements for 30 days.

Right. No problem, I thought. I consider myself accountable and of high integrity.

It wasn’t until I actually got very conscious of EVERY commitment, promise and agreement I’ve made lately, both formal and casual, that I saw I have some issues here. I was surprised.

The worst area was in promises to myself. Those are the easiest to blow off. And it’s easy, but dangerous, to be oblivious to the self-damage that this does on so many levels.

I’m sure I’m not alone in all of this.

So, what’s the solution?

Not make any promises or agreements?

Well, actually — energetically speaking — that is a correct solution for the large majority of us! Allow me to explain.

~~~ Will Power Energy ~~~

One of the nine Energy Centers in Human Design is the Will Center (also sometimes called the Heart Center or Ego Center). It is the source of our Will Power energy.

Will Power is the energy to make ourselves (or compel others to) do things that we (or they) didn’t really feel like doing.

Here’s the interesting part:7/8 of the population (87.5% of us!) DO NOT HAVE INHERENT WILL POWER!

This seems rather ironic in our “pull yourself up by your boot straps” and “go manifest your destiny” society! We value (and reward) Will Power.

Yet so few of us have it.

Those of us who don’t have it, can and do take it in and amplify it (it is an Open Center for 7/8 of us), so we “borrow” it and can use it temporarily...but we don’t have it consistently.

~~~ That’s Good News and Bad News ~~~

The good news is that it lets us off the hook! At least it explains why most of us have such a hard time keeping all of our promises.

The bad news, and the question that my clients always ask me, is..."so how am I supposed to get anything done if I can’t rely on Will Power?"

Fortunately, Human Design gives us the answer.

~~~ If You Have Will Power... ~~~

If you have a small red triangle just right of the middle of your Human Design Chart*, then you HAVE Will Power energy and it is energetically correct for you to make promises. You have the inherent Will Power to help you keep those promises.

Making and keeping promises, agreements, commitments, etc. serves to strengthen your self-esteem and your personal power and value in the world.

~~~ If You DON’T Have Will Power... ~~~

If the small triangle just right of the middle of your Human Design Chart* is white, then you DO NOT HAVE Will Power energy. The way for YOU to get things done - to stick with an exercise or eating plan, etc. - is to follow the STRATEGY that is specifically correct for your Human Design Type.

That Strategy is shown on your personal Human Design Chart*, it’s explained in the special report that comes with the Decision Maker’s Kit that I give away on my website, and it’s covered in depth in a Human Design Reading with me.

*If you don’t have your Free Chart and Free Decision-Maker’s Kit, click the banner above this article.

There isn’t room here to cover the Strategy for each Human Design Type, but I have another article devoted to discussing them.

~~~ In the Meantime ~~~

If you do have Will Power in your Chart, carry on making promises and keeping them. Also, go easy on the rest of us who are not designed to “just do it” like you are. And please don’t try to extract promises from us, then judge us when we fall short. But also recognize that your Will Power energy does empower the rest of us when we’re near you.

If you don’t have Will Power in your Chart, please stop beating yourself up about promises not kept, and start being super selective about the promises you do make. Whenever possible, avoid making any promises or commitments at all (seriously!). No sense in re-creating the lose-lose-lose scenario we started with.

Author's Bio: 

Evelyn Levenson, MBA

Your Success By Design Coach & Certified Human Design Specialist has felt driven to help others, using whatever tools and abilities she had at the time, from figuring out how to repair a friend’s bicycle chain during a long bike ride as a teenager, to learning software in her business world so she could help others use it. Now, her tool set and skill level have greatly expanded and she's on a deliberate mission to empower people to create a life they love!

For more information visit her website at: HumanDesignforSuccess.com