contract vs promises

5-min: thou shall not pour new wine into old wineskins.

Hi friends 👋🏾

Welcome to Issue 22 of Classroom-2-Boardroom. ✨

This is a 5-min read, no more no less. 🙅🏾‍♀️

This week, we’re exploring a relationship between who we used to be 🤔, who we want to be 🤩, and who we currently are 😇- in other words, our past self, present self, and future self. 🫠

Contracts vs Promises:
Breaking old contracts to fulfill new promises.

As we develop into our present selves, we also tend to carry certain remnants of our past commitments.

10-year-old me: I want to be a Doctor. 😌

13-year-old me: I want to be a Neuroscientist. 🤒

15-year-old me: I want to be a Biomedical engineer. 😊

These were contracts I signed with my younger self without sufficient info about who/what I wanted and what was ahead for me.

But first, what are contracts? 💁🏾‍♀️

Contracts are the commitments we make from a place of logic and practicality. 🫣

They are the "shoulds" and "musts" that guide us through our early career paths.

Many of them are rooted in the expectations set by our educational achievements and societal benchmarks. 💁🏾‍♀️

Granted, these contracts are essential; they provide structure and direction. 🤷🏾‍♀️

So what contracts did you sign with your younger self before even knowing thyself?

Well, say less…😌

When you declared your major based on what your family members studied, without knowing your true passions, you made a contract to pursue a career path that might not align with your interests. 🫨

When you accepted a job offer because it's what your people considered a success, without knowing your own definition of success, you made a contract to chase societal approval over personal fulfillment. 🥺

When you entered a relationship mirroring the dynamics you saw in your parents' relationship 🙂, without knowing your own needs and boundaries, you made a contract to repeat patterns rather than forge your own path in love and partnership. 🫣

When you adopted a lifestyle that prioritizes work over well-being because that's how you saw adults around you living 🫨, without knowing the importance of balance, you made a contract to put productivity above health.

When you surrounded yourself with friends based on convenience or historical connection 😎, without knowing the value of mutual growth and support, you made a contract to maintain relationships that may not encourage your personal development.

I can go on and on and on. 😃

Other contracts are unspoken, unwritten yet highly powerful. 🤔

These contracts, the ones I’m talking about, are the ones we sign with the older generations. 😆

These contracts are built on respect, tradition, and a whole lot of expectations.

They're like a roadmap drawn up years ago, assuming the destination hasn't changed.

Finish school, get a job, climb the ladder—the usual script. 😃

And it's not that this advice isn't valuable

It's just that it's coming from a place that might not fully gel with the here and now. 👌🏾

But pause. Cause here’s the kicker: 😌

While contracts may be enough to get you started, they’re not enough to keep you going. 💯

You need something from the heart. You need a why. 🙂

When you know better, you do better. 🫡

As time goes on, you move from “t-e-e-n” to “t-y”.

Life hits you (and at times hard). 😭

You want to move forward but your foot is on the break. 🤷🏾‍♀️

You want to speak but your mouth is shut. 😆

You want to fly but your feet is tied to the ground. 🙃

Bottomline: you want to try something new but your old self is in the way.🙁

”No one pours a new wine into an old wineskin”

You’re ready to fulfill new promises but your old contracts are still active. 🥹

Breaking old contracts to fulfill new promises- letting go of the old for the new.

Sometimes you have to break the contract you made with your old self before you can fulfill the promise you’re making to your new self. 🤌🏾

Unlike contracts, promises are born from a different place. 😎

Promises are reminiscent of passion, aspiration, and the deep-seated desire to fulfill our potential in ways that resonate with our core. 🫡

A promise to our new self is a commitment to pursue paths that align more closely with our values, dreams, and the impact we wish to make in the world. 🎯

Promises are the commitments you make from your heart- now that you know better. 😇

These kinds of commitments are the dreams that get you up in the morning- they are the goals that light you up.

These are the commitments that make you feel unstoppable 💪🏾 or even want to just shine bright like a diamond. ✨

Promises remind you that you’re committed to what feels right to YOU, not just what looks right on paper. 💁🏾‍♀️

And remember, what feels right to you doesn’t have to feel right to everybody. 🙅🏾‍♀️

Appreciate the old, embrace the new, and create your own version. 💯

Remember, as we go from the classroom to the boardroom, the evolution from contract to promise represents a deeper understanding of self.

It's a recognition that while our early contracts guide us, our promises propel us further. 🚀🚀

Be mindful of the contracts that have shaped you and be grateful for the lessons along the way.

Don’t toss out all that wisdom.

But remix it with your own observations, experiences, and the realities of the world we live in. 🤌🏾

Take the best of what they've offered and adapt it. 👌🏾

But be unbothered about letting them go. 👋🏾

Be unashamed of rewriting the narrative. 🙅🏾‍♀️

History remembers those who defined the status quo; ✨

But forever celebrates those who challenged it. 🫡

Until next time,

Don’t Forget to be Awesome!

Dulra
Founder, Dot.