Growing Fat on Broken Promises
Updated 2026-08-22
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
The phrase, from a Lu state anecdote, describes someone who grows fat by eating his own words, meaning to break a promise for private gain. As a reputational tool its core claim is a credit-deficit mechanism: profit earned through default, exploiting familiars, or false advertising is not gain but an overdraft of future brand and trust assets, so the fat is puffy and hollow. The conditions are that the deficit compounds silently and that covering it with a bigger lie accelerates the collapse instead of pausing it.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Cost the hidden liability: before taking a profit that requires a broken promise, count the future trust depreciation. - Run a promise loop: treat every commitment kept as an asset being actively managed. - Repay the deficit: restore trust through sustained delivery rather than a larger cover story.
Anchor fast decisions
The anecdote of growing fat by breaking promises reveals a credit-deficit mechanism: short-term gains from default, exploiting familiars, or false promises actually overdraft future brand and trust assets, and each broken promise adds a compounding liability, which is why the fat is puffy rather than strong.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B7%A6%E4%BC%A0verified
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