Quote · The School of Greatness
Why You Tolerate a Relationship You Know Should End | Gary John Bishop
Where this was said
The Bankruptcy of the Vow
At 42:25 · chapter starts 40:40
Bishop makes a sharp historical argument about language and commitment. Two hundred years ago, he says, a vow was the most powerful instrument available to a human being. The American Declaration of Independence is nothing more than a group of people declaring independence — words backed by the willingness to die for them. [1] — Gary John Bishop "Nobody has a relationship to a vow anymore. Two hundred years ago, a vow was the most powerful instrument in the world — the American Decla…" 41:00 Today, people recite wedding vows with no experiential relationship to the concept of vowing anything at all. You don't go around life saying 'I vow to meet you at 3 o'clock.' The word is empty. Bishop argues that any area of your life where you are genuinely powerful, you will find a profound relationship between what you said and what you did — especially when you didn't feel like it. Marriage is identical. The vow must mean something beyond the ceremony, or the relationship has no foundation.
Nobody has a relationship to a vow anymore. Two hundred years ago, a vow was the most powerful instrument in the world — the American Declaration of Independence was built entirely on people vowing their sacred honor, and many gave their lives to it. Today people take marriage vows with no experiential understanding of what a vow actually means. The bankruptcy of the vow is the bankruptcy of the relationship.
Gary John Bishop argues that a lifetime of breaking promises to yourself diminishes your relationship with yourself so severely that you lose the capacity to do great things.
