- Living your life in accordance with an internal set of beliefs.
- Value honesty, so you will not tolerate a lie and do not lie just to make a situation easier or to avoid scrutiny or escape additional work.
- Believe in putting forth your best effort, so you refuse to cut corners, to skip necessary things, to push off to others, that which is your responsibility.
- You feel bound to act when you see injustice, to speak when others won’t, to stand up for your beliefs by living them.
The word integrity is derived from the Latin word integritas which means whole or complete; it is related to integrate, or bringing together.
An integration of your outer life and inner life—two sides coming together, creating a whole, consistent you. In our society such integration can be hard to come by. Some people are disconnected from their true inner core, while others rarely reveal it.
If integrity is about having your outer world truly reflect your inner world, the first step is taking the time and thought to explore and discover who you are:
Who is your unique inner being? What are the gifts that you alone possess that you can contribute to the world and those around you?
Here are some steps to use during the discovery process:
- Find your sense of purpose. What is your passion?
- Think about how you want your life to be.
- What are your dreams. Your values?
- Be committed to living a life you love.
- Stay open to change.
It’s about self-honesty and having the courage to hear and accept what your heart and life are telling you, so that you can more fully become who you really are. Make sure that the things you say and the things you do, are in alignment.
As you integrate your inner and outer life, you’ll feel more peace and joy.
Several years ago I took a personal growth class that offered an additional 11 week workshop on integrity.
One of the big points about living in integrity I wasn’t so good at. It was being on time. Of course when I worked as a nurse at the hospital and I had to punch in, I was always on time.
Only not so much to family events. I remember hearing my family say that I was always late. It used to sting a bit, only I guess not enough for me to change it.
What I learned in the workshop is that being late is out of integrity. Now there are times that an accident on the freeway happens and causes you to be late. At that point, you call whomever you had an appointment with immediately, and tell them what’s going on. Then you’re back in integrity. They can choose to keep the appointment and wait for you, or reschedule.
Living in integrity is consciously doing the best you can to not be late. It’s about honoring your word. With yourself and others.
Today, I’m rarely late. I guess 11 weeks of in-depth study on integrity, took care of that!
“The foundation stones for balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.”
– Zig Ziglar
You’ll find people respect and trust you more, when you live a life of integrity. They start seeking your feedback because you are a person of integrity. You can be counted on and trusted.
So what are your thoughts about all of this? Will you share them with me? I’d love to hear them.
With love and appreciation,
Connie
PS. Here once again is the Emotional Scale. This will help you to pay attention to what you’re feeling and then what you’re thoughts are. I suggest you print it and keep it where you can look at it often.
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