The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

I had moved away from reading these types of books. As I noted in my As A Man Thinketh review, I had read so many from this genre that they all seemed to be some variation of the same thing. But for whatever reason, I couldn’t prevent myself from buying this one.

The Four Agreements is a tiny book that I read in 2 hours. The agreements, which you make with yourself, are 1) Be impeccable with your word, 2) Don’t take anything personally, 3) Don’t make assumptions, and 4) Always do your best.

The tenor of the narrative was somewhat surprising. Although the author states the book is not about religion, I believe it has religious undertones. Nonetheless, the agreements all seem pretty reasonable to me.

I found myself in agreement through much of the book as it was confirmation of what I already believe to be true. But the author makes a bold assertion which I’ve heard elsewhere and it was good to be reminded; challenge your beliefs because all of them aren’t yours. And in order to get anything out of this book, you will have to do exactly that.

I didn’t have any revelations while reading The Four Agreements but becuase it’s an easy read and one of the better written books on self-improvement, I’d recommend it to someone looking to delve into this genre.

"In your whole life nobody has ever abused you more than you have abused yourself. And the limit of your self-abuse is exactly the limit that you tolerate from someone else. If someone abuses you a little more than you abuse yourself, you will probably walk away from that person."

The Four Agreements