How can you apply the lessons of the Toltec agreements in your professional life?

Perhaps you have already heard of the Toltec agreements? With his world best seller “The 4 Toltec Agreements” released in 1997, followed by “The 5th Toltec Agreement” published in 2009, Miguel Ruiz strongly influenced the literature on personal development.

In his books, Miguel Ruiz brings up to date the ancient teachings of Mexican shamans in order to successfully challenge our usual ways of functioning and interacting with others. The aim? Reclaiming our freedom and exploiting our full potential.

While this promise is already appealing for individuals, it can also do wonders at work. So, how do you apply these famous Toltec agreements in your daily professional life? A short overview.

Deal #1: let your word be impeccable

The first Toltec agreement focuses on the discourse that is carried out:

” Always speak with integrity. Say only what you think. Do not use speech against yourself or to insult others [...] Speech is a tool that can destroy. Recognize its power and master it. No lies or slander. ”

To apply this precept in your professional life, here are the areas on which you can work:

• Avoid denigrating or criticizing your employees as much as possible : it is an essential key for more fluid, more honest and more respectful communication. Applying this advice will encourage the emergence of a work environment where everyone feels in a position to express their opinion without feeling judged.
• It is also true for Your little inner voice, which you should try to silence if it leads you to doubt yourself and your skills. This will allow you to gain self-confidence and help you push the limits you set for yourself.

Deal #2: Don't make it personal

The Second Toltec Agreement sheds light on the importance of not taking things too seriously:

” You are not the cause of the actions of others. What others say and do is only a projection of their own reality, their dreams, their fears, their anger, their fantasies. When you are immune to this, you are no longer a victim of unnecessary suffering. ”

Again, this teaching can be very useful at work:

• Have you just had a fruitless exchange with a colleague? Get out of a meeting that went short? Remember that you are not responsible for what your colleagues think or do. By immunizing yourself against the opinions of others, you will save valuable energy.
• Don't bring your professional problems home : whatever your difficulties at work are in no way personal attacks. Avoiding interpreting everything according to yourself allows you to get away from sterile criticisms.

Without saying that we must refuse any questioning of course, we must succeed in distinguishing between constructive and benevolent remarks, which can have real added value, and those that are not worth dwelling on because they can only cause unnecessary suffering.

Deal #3: Make no assumptions

The third Toltec agreement advises not to leave room for doubt:

” Don't start developing negative probability hypotheses, only to end up believing them, as if they were certainties. Have the courage to ask questions and express your true wants and needs. Communicate clearly with others to avoid sadness, misunderstandings, and drama. ”

This 3rd precept is totally connected to the first two: it is in particular by communicating, by asking questions directly (impeccable speech) that you will be able to succeed in not taking things too personal:

• Don't keep things to yourself : do you have a doubt, a question? Talk to colleagues about it, and don't overinterpret their reactions. This will avoid misunderstandings and resentments that can then build up in a lasting way.
• Don't assume that your hierarchy should know that you are waiting for a promotion or dreaming of a job change. Express yourself.

Deal #4: Always do your best

The fourth Toltec agreement encourages us to always surpass ourselves:

” There is no obligation to succeed, there is only an obligation to do the best. Your “best” changes from moment to moment. Whatever the circumstances, just do your best. This way, you will avoid judging yourself, feeling guilty and having regrets. Try, undertake, try to make optimal use of your personal abilities. Be kind to yourself. Accept that you are not perfect or always victorious. ”

In your personal and professional life, this fourth agreement can bring you a lot:

• Do your best, without falling into perfectionism, helps to avoid regrets and guilt.
• It also involves a profound kindness towards yourself: having temporary slack is completely normal, allow yourself these diet cuts without being too hard on yourself.
• This involves a large Honesty with yourself : the goal is not to find excuses for not moving forward, but rather to be lucid about what you can do and what you cannot do. To do the best possible, but not the impossible.

Deal #5: Be Skeptical but Learn to Listen

Finally, the fifth Toltec agreement insists on the importance of listening:

” Question your beliefs, what you say, what you hear, to eliminate the filter of perception. Your reality is not that of others. Listening allows you to understand others, to respect them, to enter their world, even if you do not agree with them. ”

The delicate balance to find is to keep your critical mind sharp, to remain true to your ideas and values, while being open and tolerant.

In your professional environment, for example, this may mean respecting the culture of your company and the ideas of your employees, without disappearing or stopping to think for yourself. It requires Finding the right balance between the constraints and interests of each other, of your company, remain open to others and their thinking patterns, without denying who you are.