The Four Agreements: #4

[ragani]

The final installment in The Four Agreements series is, not surprisingly, agreement 4. I think that this one will actually be a bit of a relief to some people. Personally I have been finding some of the agreements a challenge to implement in my life, especially not taking anything personally (#2), and not making assumptions (#3). Although at first, agreement 4 might seem like a burden, it is actually the opposite, and should relieve some of the pressure we often feel to be perfect all the time.

Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

The fourth agreement is about the first three: Always do your best.
Under any circumstance, always do your best, no more and no less. But keep in mind that your best is never going to be the same from one moment to the nest. Everything is alive and changing all the time, so your best will sometimes be high quality, and other times it will not be as good. When you wake up refreshed and energized in the morning, your best will be better than when you are tired at night. Your best will depend on whether you are feeling wonderful and happy, or upset, angry, or jealous.
Regardless of the quality, keep doing your best — no more and no less than your best. If you try too hard to do more than your best, you will spend more energy than is needed and in the end your best will not be enough. When you overdo, you deplete your body and go against yourself, and it will take you longer to accomplish your goal. But if you do less than your best, you subject yourself to frustration, self-judgment, guilt, and regrets.
For example, most people go to work every day just thinking of payday, and the money they will get from the work they are doing. They can hardly wait for Friday or Saturday, whatever day they receive their money and can take time off. They are working for the reward, and as a result they resist work. They try to avoid the action and it becomes more difficult, and they don't do their best.

Remember, these have been just excerpts from the book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. If you have found these excerpts interesting, I recommend getting yourself a copy. It is small friendly book that does not take long to read, and is a great resource to have on hand. I am passing this copy along to the friend I purchased it for in the first place.

Comments

[veryloki.livejournal.com]

I'd be more interested in stuff like this if they spent more time spelling out how to meet these agreements. Really, deciding on a set of priorities like this is only half the battle, or less. The truly difficult part is the follow-through.

[ragani.livejournal.com]

Although he probably does not go into it as much as you would like, what I have shown so far is only the core message. He does spend more time on explaining about each one, then talks in more general terms about having more freedom in your life.

I agree that follow-through is often the most difficult part of anything like this. One of the attractions to this book was the simplicity of the core message. Yet, how to achieve "enlightenment" is rarely an easy thing to explain, as it is going to be different for each person. These agreements will look different for you compared to anyone else trying to incorporate them into their lives. I have run across some books that spend more time spelling out what to do, although most of them are relationship specific (or, in another case, female specific).

There is no reason not to give them a try, though. Interpret as you see fit, and see if you can try to spend a day following just one of the agreements and see how it works for you. Try another one on another day, and so on. If you find it difficult, don't worry, and remember this last agreement basically says to give yourself a break if you are not perfect, and not to try too hard.