Your word is the only money you print yourself. Don’t inflate it.

Promises work like currency: the value comes from scarcity and backing. Say you will be there, fail to turn up a few times, and the words still come out of your mouth but nobody prices them the same way. Overpromising feels generous in the moment, which is why it is easy to do, and it is the main way people quietly devalue themselves.

Issue less and cover all of it. This week, say no to one thing you would normally half-agree to, and deliver the two things you already promised exactly as described. Nothing restores the rate faster than a stretch of being boringly good for it.