Don Miguel Ruiz wrote a book called the Four Agreements entailing a few rules that enable a simpler, happier life. These Agreements include; be impeccable with your words, do not take anything personally, do not make assumptions, and always do your best. Now, we will be taking a closer look at the first agreement, be impeccable with your word. I’m sure most of you are thinking “What does that entitle?” To understand this better, here are a few quick definitions. Impeccable means faultless or flawless. Alright, but how can we be faultless with our words? This is where things get tricky. When I first read this agreement I thought “word” was literal, however, “word” is intended to mean our expressions, our thoughts, the energy we use to communicate with others and ourselves. That is a little broad, so now we can break it down. First, let's discuss how we can be impeccable with spoken words. Imagine if every word you spoke casted a spell. Positive words manifested positive outcomes, and negative words a negative outcome. This sounds crazy until you think about theories like the Law of Attraction. The theory states that positive and negative thoughts will lead to similar outcomes because thoughts are energy which is transferable. I am willing to admit that I have started educating myself on this subject recently. For more information please look to more reliable sources. That being said, personally, I believe in manifestation from our thoughts and words. It’s really all the same concept as karma (good and bad) or jinxing something. We have seen this same idea several times, but in practice this agreement is much more difficult than it sounds. If we use our words to spread positivity then positivity will come back to us, simple as that. Now, the complicated part is understanding how do we do that with our thoughts? We cannot really control what we think, right? Wrong. It’s all about mentality. We, as a society, have continuously undermined the power of our mind. We have so much control over ourselves, but get so distracted trying to control things we never could control to begin with. Trying to direct someone's thoughts or actions is pointless, so we must save that energy for what is in our power. It takes time and practice to have mindfulness, but if there is anything you take from what I say I hope it's this: do not waste time trying to fix other people. Use that same time and energy into promoting healthy life habits for yourself, both mental and physical. 

Self love is essential and we cannot love ourselves until we know ourselves. That might sound disjointed from the topic at hand, but having that mindfulness and that self love is ultimately what will make this agreement possible. When you have a positive mindset problems are much easier to overcome. A positive mindset does not mean only thinking and speaking of things that make you happy. Looking at problems in yourself and your life and trying to tackle them is also positive. Simple behaviors like that can completely change your view of the world, in my experience at least. Of course, all of this is simpler said than done. Being aware of these agreements and having them in the back of your head can make a world of difference. Now then, to talk about our actions. Thoughts and words are ultimately meaningless if your actions do not back them up. The funny thing about words is they are very easy to believe, but not mean. It is much easier to say you will do or change something, but the follow through is what makes those words fact or fiction. I often find myself saying all these changes I am going to make to my life, but my actions don’t follow suit. For example, all summer I’ve been saying how I’m gonna start working out or eating healthier. It’s an easy thing to say, but actually do? That's where I (and many others) struggle. Next time you make a statement like that, take a second to think.