When should we enter into a promise?

There are times when we enter into promises out of convenience, an emotional high, or to appease another at present without necessarily intending to fulfill the promise.

If we want to honor our word, I am thinking of three conditions that must be met if we want to make a promise (or enter into a binding agreement with one another):

First, the need to be mindful, heartful, authentic, and self-aware. Promising things during an extreme emotional high or low may impede us from actually understanding whether we can commit to doing something or not. We may overestimate our abilities and commit to something we cannot or not willing to do. We may inadvertently underestimate the risks and tradeoffs. In Filipino, pwede tayong mapasubo.

Second is the need to appreciate the power dynamics between those entering the promise. Did the powerful manipulate the powerless? Were there any false pretenses?

Third is orienting ourselves towards what is collaboratively discerned as “good” or a win-win situation. This disincentivizes the other from breaking the promise, because why would any break their end of the stick if both stand to flourish?

If we cannot fulfill any of these three conditions assuming that we want to honor our word, then it is better not to promise anything.

In a world where fake news, BS, and half-truths are more common, those who stand for the truth and honor their word are indeed rare; scarce, even. This makes those who honor their word valuable, almost a priceless gem that no one would ever want to let go.

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Matthew 14:1-12. Because of his “oaths”… (the beheading of John the Baptist)

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 211: JULY 30, 2022]

The foolishness of forced ranking

Let’s suppose that heaven and the Divine Judgement are indeed true. Do the Scriptures say that we will undergo a “forced ranking” and that there is a limited quota of people to be accepted into heaven?

What is most important is how well we tried to bloom despite the context we are planted in. Did we become the best persons we could be given the constraints we are placed in?

Forced ranking is foolish because it arbitrarily rejects people who are good or have potential just for the sake of meeting a metric or a quota.

What is more practical is to have a collaboratively agreed-upon standard of excellence, where the question is not “did I beat the other?” but “did we meet the standard?” I think this is the beauty of accreditations or stamps of approval – it does not force needless competition but recognizes what is high quality.

If the Divine Judgement parallels the fisherfolk catching fish and separating the good and the bad, the question is not whether the net is large enough (because the net is large enough!). It’s a matter of being good enough to stand together with other good people.

The foolishness of forced ranking is that we are fooled to think we are better than others; but the essential “ranking” we only have to heed is whether we outrank our previous selves. To be virtuous and a virtuoso; to be better today than yesterday.

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Matthew 13:47-53. When the net is full

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 209: JULY 28, 2022]

Sensemaking

Maybe, to flourish means to make more meaning. To leave a legacy means to leave more meaning than there was before.

Maybe the primary purpose of our senses is not to speak nor move first; it is to absorb what we are seeing and hearing and feeling and “make sense”, or “make meaning”.

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Matthew 13:16-17. Blessed are your eyes and ears

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 207: JULY 26, 2022]

Do we really go beyond our prayers and intentions?

I have coached research groups who have been studying not only intentions, but how (or if) specific intentions can indeed translate to actual behavior. The scholarly literature calls this the “intention-behavior gap”. So far, the trend is that intentions of purchasing low-priced items are statistically reliable predictors of actual purchase behavior within a 1-2 month gap. The data on sustainability-oriented intentions (sustainable entrepreneurship, recycling) translating to actual behavior within 1 to 12 months seem noisier.

One insight that stands out to me is how “easy” it is to “intend”. Many research on values, attitudes, norms, and control stop short at researching intention and usually, the explanatory power of these antecedents is quite high. For example, it feels good (attitude) to think about sustainability. It is easy to say that one intends to perform sustainable actions. But do these intentions really translate to actual behaviors? I’m beginning to rethink the practical relevance of “intention” in certain contexts like sustainable consumption behaviors and sustainable entrepreneurial behaviors because of what my research groups’ findings have initially revealed.

And if we think about it, prayers can be similar to intentions. It feels good to pray, but do we actually act on our prayers? What I like about today’s gospel about the Lord’s Prayer is the emphasis of Jesus on personal agency (action) as part of the conditions that could manifest the prayer’s intentions. My favorite line: “… He will give him whatever he needs (not out of friendship) because of his persistence.”

In a way, I am also reminding myself through this reflection that reflection without action is not complete. This is why the Lasallian Reflection Framework and Lonergan’s general empirical method is so beautiful; experience, insight, judge, and act.

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Luke 11:1-13. The Lord’s Prayer

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 205: JULY 24, 2022]