Promise Cards can be used in a variety of ways to increase a sense of personal responsibility or impress upon others the importance of a promise. The list below includes some creative ways to use this simple tool. Don’t be afraid to MIX these ideas.
After you use the Promise Card(s), we’d love to hear your story! Take a picture and shoot us a message here or tag us on social media.
1. Earn It Back
Write a promise on your Promise Card and give it to the person you’re making the commitment to. When you fulfill the promise you earn the card back from them. Keep it as a reminder that you are a person of your word.
2. The Trade
Use this method to encourage another to make a promise! You write down a promise and tell the person that you will keep the promise IF they keep theirs. They also write a promise and you exchange cards as a symbol of commitment.
3. Social Media Put to Good Use
Social media can motivate you to keep your promise. Post a picture of your Promise Card to social media AND promise that you will update everyone in a week (or whatever unit of time makes the most sense for your promise).
4. Wedding Guest Gift
Committing to marrying someone might be the biggest promise of them all! Think about it: a wedding is really a gathering of people watching you make that promise while encouraging you on your journey. Consider giving Promise Cards to your guests and encourage them to make and keep a promise as a part of the celebration.
5. The Goodbye Promise
Losing a loved one can remind us about how much we still have left to do in this short life. Sometimes promises are born from death. The Founder of because I said I would left three written Promise Cards in his father’s casket, but the card can be used in several ways at a funeral. For example, you can give cards to the attendees and encourage them to make and keep a promise in honor of your loved one.
6. The Promise Wall
Have everyone in your family, team or organization write a Promise Card and stick it on the wall. People love to read each other’s commitments because promises can give you a unique look into someone else’s life. Bonus idea: Make one section “Promises Made” and another section “Promises Kept.” Once a promise is kept, it moves from one section of the wall to the other!
7. Fifty-Two Weeks in a Fishbowl
Write out 52 separate promises that can be individually completed in one week’s time. Put all 52 Promise Cards in a bowl and randomly select one each week. You have one week to fulfill that promise. You could even make a video each week about how that promise went and start a YouTube/Instagram/TikTok series about it! That’s what our Founder did. Check it out here! Also, it doesn’t have to be randomly selected nor does it have to be weekly. It could be specific promises each week or you could even do the same idea on a monthly cadence.
8. Trophy on the Wall
Frame your Promise Card and hang it on the wall. It makes a great conversation piece for promises that you are hoping others might consider (e.g., run a 5k for charity, quit smoking cigarettes, etc.) This idea can also be done with just a photo frame that sits on a desk. Get creative!
9. Obvious Reminder
Use the Promise Card as a reminder. Tape it to your bathroom mirror. Put it behind your phone with a clear phone case. Stick to your car’s dashboard. Some promises benefit from constant reminders. You can even write the same card out a bunch of times and put them in multiple places!
10. Write a Promise and Give It As a Gift
Did you see the story about the mom who gave Promise Cards as a gift? This is a great idea for the holidays. Receiving a commitment from another person can make an awesome present. There are some things money cannot buy.
11. Bookmark
Write the date you promise to finish the book by and use the Promise Card as a bookmark.
12. Tally Marks
If you have a promise that involves doing the same thing several times (e.g. workout 5 days a week for 2 weeks), make a tally mark on your Promise Card every time you succeed. It’s really satisfying to see the tally marks add up.
13. New Year’s Eve Party Activity
The New Year’s resolution deserves a stage at your next New Year’s Eve party. Use any of the ideas at your get-together and encourage your guests to make positive promises.
14. Laminate for Your Wallet
Laminate your Promise Card and keep it in your wallet as a consistent reminder. Colonel Parker Schenecker did this with his Promise Card.
15. The Daily Stack
Promising FOREVER can sometimes be intimidating. Instead, just promise something for today (e.g. I will not drink alcohol today). Then write a new Promise Card with the same promise on it tomorrow. You can add a date to each card if you’d like. See how high you can stack the cards. Daily promises make challenging goals seem a little less overwhelming
BONUS Ideas:
Here are a couple of ideas that don’t even require Promise Cards!
16. Write It on Your Shoes
Are you a runner or athlete with a big goal ahead of you? Write because I said I would with a permanent marker on your shoes. That’s what Bobby did when he ran the Boston Marathon after the bombs exploded.
17. The Journal Chain
Start with a blank journal and write a promise on the first page. As you work to fulfill your promise, journal a few notes or thoughts on that same page. When you fulfill your promise (AND ONLY WHEN YOU FULFILL IT) hand it to the next person and tell them to do the same. Be sure to put your email address on the back cover and ask the final person who receives the journal to contact you. Ask them to mail it back to you and you can read the incredible impact your journal made.