In this book, The Four Agreements, Miguel Ruiz shows us the source of our self limiting belief system in the society that we live in today, that daily rob us of our joy and create an endless cycle of self doubt from within. Based on Ancient Toltec wisdom, these Four Agreements are a powerful code that when practiced, can transform the life of anyone that chooses to do so. Each step is a personal agreement that you make to yourself, those steps being very simple, but hard to keep going. Those steps being; Be Impeccable With Your Word, Don't Take Anything Personally, Don't Make Assumptions and Always Do Your Best. I'm going to go ahead and tell you exactly what I got from reading about each Agreement.
Be Impeccable With Your Word:
This agreement is possibly one of the most important out of all four. To be impeccable with your word simply means to watch what you say and how you say it to others. Words are powerful, even the way we say things can be misinterpreted and change someone's perception on you or anything for that matter within seconds. And this goes for ourselves as well as others. We doubt ourselves more than anyone else ever can. So, when we constantly let ourselves down, we deny that we are good enough. Therefore, using your word to uplift and encourage yourself can have a massive impact on your life as well as the people around you.
Don't Make Assumptions:
It's all in the title. To assume is never good, for anyone. When you begin to assume things about yourself or anyone else then you limit yourself to really enjoying anything in life. To not talk to someone because you assume they're lame without ever giving them a chance, robs you of experiencing a new friendship. In all reality we never definitively know anything until we see it with out own eyes. So, to assume without knowing, is to reject without reason. And rejection isn't exactly what we're all looking for, is it?
Don't Take Anything Personally:
When people act out towards you, it's important not to take it personally. When someone is mad at you, it's because of their own reasons. Something in that persons life bothers them so much, that at times, most people can act out without even thinking it over. When you take things personally, you not only are taking in negativity but you're not thinking about why this person may be acting out. To understand is the goal. So when we take things personal we fail to understand that everyone has pent up aggression that could come out at any moment. So don't take it personal. Just let it go.
Always Do Your Best:
Whether you fail or not, if you tried your best, you can never be disappointed. To see failure as definitive can only bring you down. When you always try your best, failure will never be a bother. It'll be that easy to get up and try again. When you know that you've tried your best then that voice in your head begins to wither away. Give it your best try becomes more important than stressing over loss. Why stress yourself out when you can just try your best?
Overall, this book did a lot for me. The only reason I gave it a read is because I heard in two separate interviews that rappers Joey Bada$$ and Dizzy Wright read this book, and they highly recommended it. Dizzy even named one of his albums "The First Agreement", which I thought was pretty cool. It was a quick read and a good way to help me clear my head from negativity. I recommend everyone give it a try! 5 out of 5!