“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.^” Colossians 3:17 NKJV

This week, I will be sharing the fourth and final agreement from Don Miguel Ruiz’s book titled, “The Four Agreements.” The fourth agreement is “Always Do Your Best.”  Ruiz states, “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.”

Recently, I was enjoying one of my favorite past times–strolling through YouTube videos. While doing so, I came across “In Depth” with Graham Bensinger. In this particular video, Graham was interviewing Michelle Obama’s brother, Craig Robinson. The segment was titled, “Craig Robinson: From Poor to Princeton.” During the interview, Graham asked Craig, “What do you think you learned most from your parents?” Craig immediately responded that his parents showed unconditional love and he also expressed that his parents never told him he had to make straight A’s. Craig shared that his dad once said, “If you are going to be a ditch digger, be the best ditch digger—just work hard. If you work hard and get a B or C, I’m not going to say anything, but if you are just slacking off and get a B, that’s bad.” Mr. Robinson’s statement resonated with me because my mother had a similar saying: “If you are going to do something, do it right.” Always remembering that, I strived to do my best whether it was a menial task or a great accomplishment.  In his book, Ruiz expresses, “Doing your best is taking the action because you love it, not because you’re expecting a reward. Most people do exactly the opposite: They only take action when they expect a reward, and they don’t enjoy the action. And that’s the reason why they don’t do their best.” 

So, let us recap the four agreements:

1.  Be impeccable with your word  
   • Speak with integrity.
   • Say what you mean.
   • Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or gossip about others.
   • Using the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

•  Don’t take anything personally – “Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality–their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.”

•  Don’t make assumptions – “Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama.”

•  Always do your best – Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.”

Ruiz emphasizes in his book that the first three agreements will only work if you do your best.  Don’t expect that you will always be able to be impeccable with your word; don’t expect that you will never take anything personally; nor don’t expect that you will never make another assumption, but you can certainly try and do your best. If you break an agreement, just start again the next day. At first, it will be difficult; however, it will become easier and one day, before you realize it, you will be governing your life with all four agreements.

I will leave you with the words of the late Colin Powell: “Throughout my career, I’ve always tried to do my best today, think about tomorrow, and maybe dream a bit about the future. But doing your best in the present has to be the rule. You won’t become a general unless you become a good first lieutenant.”

Wishing you a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

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