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Reflection Title: WRITE IT DOWN!

Book – Influence: Science and Practice by Robert Cialdini

Book Description: Dr. Robert B. Cialdini explains the psychology of why people say yes and how to apply these principles ethically in business and everyday situations.

You’ll learn the six universal principles of influence and how to use them to become a skilled persuader—and, just as importantly, how to defend yourself against dishonest influence attempts:

1. Reciprocation: The internal pull to repay what another person has provided us.

2. Commitment and Consistency: Once we make a choice or take a stand, we work to behave consistently with that commitment in order to justify our decisions.

3. Social Proof: When we are unsure, we look to similar others to provide us with the correct actions to take. And the more, people undertaking that action, the more we consider that action correct.

4. Liking: The propensity to agree with people we like and, just as important, the propensity for others to agree with us, if we like them.

5. Authority: We are more likely to say “yes” to others who are authorities, who carry greater knowledge, experience or expertise.

6. Scarcity: We want more of what is less available or dwindling in availability.

Reflection:
If there is one piece of advice I can give to anyone it is this…WRITE IT DOWN!

I don’t care what it is, if you say it is important to you than you need to write it down.

Something magical starts to happen when you write down your thoughts. When we write stuff down, those thoughts slowly start to become real. It brings our thoughts and feelings out of our minds and out into this world where the transformation can start to begin.

Somewhere in this transition from our minds to a piece of paper or keyboard, we realize we are staring at something that everyone else can see as well. That can be a terrifying to offer someone else a look at your inner mind. It makes us question, is this really how I feel, who I am, or what I believe, or how I want to live? If we say yes to all those questions, then that becomes a commitment to ourselves.

There is so much power in personal commitment to an idea, a value, or a purpose.

In an earlier reflection to the book Lying by Sam Harris, I said that the only person you should never lie to is yourself. When you write something down, you are making an internal commitment to those words that they are true, and you believe in them to your core. Those words have the power to transform an idea, a value, or a belief into an identity. Those words hold you accountable to your stated identity. If you violate them, then you are basically lying to yourself at that point.

That is a slippery slope.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not a liar. These days, when I put something out into this world, I truly believe it with all of my heart. When I say I’m going to do something, I do it. This is what Emilia taught me, and this is how I’ve spent the past 2 years of my life trying to honor her life.


This is also the exact reason why I recently added Integrity to my core values list. It is official, and we are so excited to welcome integrity to the family.

Integrity means being accountable to your words. I added Integrity to lock into place a reminder to myself to always strive to stay true to the values and purpose that I write about every day.
I’ve been writing about my daughter, my values, and my personal commitment to her to Live for 2 in all that I do for the past 2 years since we lost her. I can 100% tell you, that is one promise I WILL NEVER BREAK for the rest of my days that I’m blessed to have a chance at life in this world.

Consider this written, and publicly shared with the world. If you ever see me slipping, which you won’t, call me out because these thoughts and words are all I have left of my relationship with my daughter. Losing them would truly feel like losing Emilia all over again and I can never let that happen.

Question: What personal commitments have you made and publicly shared with the world?