44 Quotes On Keeping Promises

Promises are the threads that weave trust and commitment into the fabric of our relationships, whether personal or professional. The act of making a promise is simple, yet keeping it can often test our character and integrity. In a world where words are sometimes lightly spoken and quickly forgotten, honoring a promise holds significant power. This collection of 44 inspiring quotes on keeping promises is designed to remind us of the importance of staying true to our word. Through the wisdom of notable thinkers and leaders, we explore the value of promises and the profound impact they can have on our lives and those around us. Whether you're seeking motivation to uphold a difficult promise or simply wish to reflect on the nature of commitment, these quotes offer timeless insights and encouragement.

1. “I know it is a bad thing to break a promise, but I think now that it is a worse thing to let a promise break you.” - Jennifer Donnelly

2. “O, swear not by the moon, th’ inconstant moon,That monthly changes in her circle orb,Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.” - William Shakespeare

3. “To Jack, there was nothing more powerful than a promise made over a handshake. He would have died ー literally chosen death ー before breaking his word.” - Lisa Kleypas

4. “In the first place, you shouldn't believe in promises. The world is full of them: the promises of riches, of eternal salvation, of infinite love. Some people think they can promise anything, others accept whatever seems to guarantee better days ahead, as, I suspect is your case. Those who make promises they don't keep end up powerless and frustrated, and exactly the fate awaits those who believe promises.” - Paulo Coelho

5. “A 'no' does not hide anything, but a 'yes' very easily becomes a deception.” - Soren Kierkegaard

6. “I stared at her black hair. It was shiny like the promises in magazines. ” - Alice Sebold

7. “The problem with promises is that once you've made one, it's bound to be broken. It's like anunspoken cosmic rule.” - Bree Despain

8. “Is this what sadness is all about? Is it what comes over us when beautiful memories shatter in hindsight because the remembered happiness fed not just on actual circumstances but on a promise that was not kept?” - Bernhard Schlink

9. “I am stuffing your mouth with yourpromises and watching you vomit them out upon my face.” - Anne Sexton

10. “In a world where vows are worthless.Where making a pledge means nothing. Where promises are made to be broken, it would be nice to see words come back into power.” - Chuck Palahniuk

11. “Sometimes people don’t understandthe promises they’re making when they make them,” I said.Isaac shot me a look. “Right, of course.But you keep the promise anyway. That’swhat love is. Love is keeping the promise anyway. Don’t you believe in true love?” - John Green

12. “From Orient PointThe art of living isn't hard to muster:Enjoy the hour, not what it might portend.When someone makes you promises, don't trust herunless they're in the here and now, and just herwilling largesse free-handed to a friend.The art of living isn't hard to muster:groom the old dog, her coat gets back its luster;take brisk walks so you're hungry at the end.When someone makes you promises, don't trust herto know she can afford what they will cost herto keep until they're kept. Till then, pretendthe art of living isn't hard to muster.Cooking, eating and drinking are a clusterof pleasures. Next time, don't go round the bendwhen someone makes you promises. Don't trust herpast where you'd trust yourself, and don't adjust herwords to mean more to you than she'd intend.The art of living isn't hard to muster.You never had her, so you haven't lost herlike spare house keys. Whatever she opens,when someone makes you promises, don't. Trust yourart; go on living: that's not hard to muster.” - Marilyn Hacker

13. “Promises were a lot like impressions. The second one didn't count for much.” - Kristin Hannah

14. “Romance is a tender kiss with a lingering promise of more to come.” - Tim Campbell

15. “Until you get the measure of your own soul, Jim, don't be quick to condemn a priest, or anyone else for that matter. I'm not scolding you, sweetheart," she said hurriedly. "It's just that, until you've been there, you can't know what it's like to hold yourself to promises you made in good faith a long time ago. Do you hang in there, or cut your losses? Soldier on, or admit defeat and try to make the best of things?" She'd looked a little sheepish then and admitted, "You know, I used to be a real hardass about stuff like this. No retreat, no surrender! But now? Jimmy, I honestly don't know if the world would be better or worse if we all held ourselves to the vows of our youth.” - Mary Doria Russell

16. “A promise fulfilled may be a classic moment, but prophecies mean anticlimax. How much more awesome was an unexpected salvation?” - China Miéville

17. “Never break a promise to an animal. They're like babies—they won't understand.” - Tamora Pierce

18. “There was plenty of life left and if he had to he would use it all to get her back. The time had passed for making promises to her-all that was left for him was to act.” - Anna Godbersen

19. “They’re promise rings,” he whispered. Picking up the woman’s, he lifted my right hand. Sliding it on my finger, he softly said, “You wear one,” he slipped the man’s on the ring finger of his right hand, “and I wear one.” - S.C. Stephens

20. “I heard you were a player , okay , lets play a game.We'll flirt, play fights, talk 24/7, say goodmorning and goodnight every day, give each other nicknames, hang out, talk on the phone for hours, take cute pictures together, make promises to each other and hold each other.And whoever falls in love first, loses.” - Lyla Tyela Belikov

21. “It is a promise which eminently deserves our observation that all who are united to Christ and acknowledge Him to be Christ and Mediator will remain to the end safe from all danger, for what is said of the body of the Church belongs to each of its members since they are one in Christ.” - John Calvin

22. “My letters! all dead paper, mute and white!And yet they seem alive and quiveringAgainst my tremulous hands which loose the stringAnd let them drop down on my knee to-night.This said, -- he wished to have me in his sightOnce, as a friend: this fixed a day in springTo come and touch my hand ... a simple thing,Yet I wept for it! -- this, ... the paper's light ...Said, Dear I love thee; and I sank and quailedAs if God's future thundered on my past.This said, I am thine -- and so its ink has paledWith lying at my heart that beat too fast.And this ... O Love, thy words have ill availedIf, what this said, I dared repeat at last!” - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

23. “Sometimes people don't understand the promises they're making when they make them.” - John Green

24. “It was not despair, but it seemed to her as if life were passing by, leaving its promises broken and unfulfilled. Yet there were other days when she listened, was led on and deceived by fresh promises which her youth had held out to her.” - Kate Chopin

25. “The best promises forever seem to be made by amnesiacs.” - Chris Gould

26. “Sometimes life is so complicated to keep promises.” - Lee Monroe

27. “As soon as one promises not to do something, it becomes the one thing above all others that one most wishes to do.” - Georgette Heyer

28. “She was every inch the skeletal goddess that had been promised by the bones of her feet.” - Jefferson Smith

29. “The guarantee of safety in a battering relationship can never be based upon a promise from the perpetrator, no matter how heartfelt. Rather, it must be based upon the self-protective capability of the victim. Until the victim has developed a detailed and realistic contingency plan and has demonstrated her ability to carry it out, she remains in danger of repeated abuse.” - Judith Lewis Herman

30. “In ordinary life, the action of a third party does not free the contractor from an obligation; but the advantage of making a contract with heaven is that intentions are valid currency.” - Machado de Assis

31. “I’ll promise to think twice before I take any important step you seriously disapprove of.” - Anne Brontë

32. “When I say 'I won't hurt you', it's a promise, which can and will be kept but it does not come from me without a breakdown of what it means.It does not mean we will never disagree, nor does it mean that you will always like everything which I say or do. It does not mean that you will never hurt yourself by behaving in a way which is damaging to a relationship or by behaving in a way which would ultimately result in my withdrawal from your life. What it does mean is that I can promise all that I expect in terms of loyalty, honor and respect. It means I am faithful. It also means that I will not intentionally or carelessly behave in a way which causes upset or doubt. It means, at the lowest level, 'You will break these terms before I do.'Communication is essential. Trust is paramount.Be completely honest and don't make promises that you can't keep, that's all.” - Evette

33. “Promises were like laws; smart men knew when to break both.” - C.J. Hill

34. “I could think whatever I wanted to, but realized that any promises I made myself were destined to be broken.” - Jodi Picoult

35. “No hay que prometer nada porque las promesas son horribles ataduras, y cuando uno se siente amarrado tiende a liberarse, eso es fatal.” - Mario Benedetti

36. “I don't make promises in case I can't keep them. Sometimes you can't help it; things stop you.” - Glenda Millard

37. “What if God doesn’t keep his promises?” - K. Howard Joslin

38. “I got uncertain from this, I'll be perfect from now on. But all my promises, they're out the window once you're gone. You pack your bags. You say I love you but I cannot stay.” - Tegan Quin

39. “Mr. Rawlings is a man of his word. The problem was, he made two different promises and he felt honored to keep them both. He hoped that by fulfilling one, in a different than expected way, he may have the chance to rectify the other.” - Aleatha Romig

40. “If you believe in God, then you have to believe in promises.” - Piyush Naik

41. “The moment you make someone promise anything is the same moment you ask them to lie to you.” - Molly Ringwald

42. “For a moment, there was silnece, and then at Brooke's nod, the rest of the Squad, minus me, chimed in. "Yes, sir."I said nothing. For one thing, I wasn't exactly keen on speaking in unison, and for another, I wasn't about to make any promises I couldn't keep. "Toby."I jumped in my seat. The Voice actually knew my name. And somehow, he had the freaky ability to ascertain that of all of us, I was the one who hadn't responded. "Do you understand?"I contemplated telling him what I didn't understand was his familial relationshiops, but stayed momentarily silent, causing everyone within a three-foot radius to kick me under the table at once."Ow!" I cleared my throat. "I mean, yes." I didn't throw the sir on the end, but apparently, that was good enough for the Voice. "Excellent. Report in tonight, and we'll have more information for you all tomorrow. And girl?""Yes?""Congratulations on the homecoming nominations. We're all very proud.” - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

43. “Voting is not a right. It is a method used to determine which politician was most able to brainwash you.” - Dennis E. Adonis

44. “[Martin Luther King] said that little black boys and little black girls would be able to join hands with little white boys and little white girls as sisters and brothers. Then he reminded both those spectators before him and all Americans that this hope of his, this faith, was rooted in the promise of America.” - Keith Ellison