I have quit smoking at least 30 times. It has now been 8 years since I had a cigarette. We all talk about integrity. I’ll bet it is part of your organizations mission statement. In fact I’ll bet you will jump through hoops, work late and pull out all the stops to deliver on a promise you’ve made to someone. But what about the promise you made to yourself?
• I’ll exercise three times per week
• I’ll quit eating sugar (wheat, corn, processed foods, meat, you name it)
• I’ll quit cussing at work
• I’ll quit being so negative
• I’ll…
You get it. Integrity is not really some moral quality (although many people view it as one). I can be in integrity while behaving badly. I may just feel that bad behavior is one of my values and if I am acting in accordance with my values, I am in integrity.
I view it as the idea, that what I think, say and do are all in congruence. So if I tell you I will do something I will. And yet, when it comes to integrity with my personal stuff like smoking I have noticed that I am not always in congruence.
Some think that we don’t value ourselves as much as we value others people. Another school of thought holds that because it is private we don’t have to hold ourselves as accountable. For myself I suspect it was a little of the later.
Yet, if we observe really successful people, they have found a way to be in integrity not only with others but also with themselves. And by being in congruence with their values and sticking to the promises they make to themselves they achieve remarkable things:
• By saving they become wealthy
• By reading they become smarter
• By eating right they improve their health
• By exercising it is easier for them to move through the world.
What is it that you have promised yourself that you are not doing? How will your life be when you deliver on that promise?
Take Good Care,
