How Do You Know If You Have Integrity? You Either Have It or You Don't

So, how do you know if you have integrity? Because it's either you've got it or you don't and the integrity I'm talking about here is about you having integrity for yourself.


Shakespeare's quote is rather appropriate here:

If it be a sin to covet honor, I am the most offending soul

As this post today is related to James M Lynch's The Hamlet Secret: A Self-Directed (Shakespearean) Workbook for Living a Passionate, Joy-Filled Life and the chapter on Integrity.

I'm slowly working through the workbook and doing all the exercises as I go along and some catch my attention more than others.

Integrity is one of them. And that's because I never considered that being true to my word to myself was part of it. For me, keeping my word to others is sacred which is why I avoid promising anything to others unless I know I will do it.

And when I don't feel like it because... I just grit my teeth and get it done (most times).

In my youth it drove me crazy and make me very angry that people around me rarely did what they said they would do. They broke their word with impunity, like "hey, what's the big deal"! That's why I'm very careful now to whom I give my word.

And sometimes I fail spectacularly when the little me comes out, sort of six centimetres (two inches) high, if you get my drift; it's when I act small.


To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.  Shakespeare


What is Integrity

James says "Integrity is simply doing what you said you would do by when you said you would do it. Integrity is not a moral stance from which you judge someone else."

And as we all know, we are guilty of judging others regardless of how we would prefer to think about ourselves.

James says that the answer to every question is a "yes" or a "no". Anything that follows the word because is a lie. Keep it simple, stupid (KISS). Shockingly blunt isn't he but after thinking about it and reviewing my actions in this light, he's correct.

Think about this - don't you feel crummy when you don't keep your word - to yourself or someone else. You do, don't you; and that's why you feel defensive and get angry (at yourself and others).

Lying is a fact of daily life: from the excuses we invent not to do something because we don't want to (even when it's on-the-job), don't feel like it, don't know how to do it and can't admit it. Because most people are unaware that they have to power to react differently. Awareness is the key.

 I had rather do and not promise than promise and not do.  Arthur Warwick 
 

The Challenge

James goes on to say "To be truly free and in the flow of passionate life, whatever gets in the way of you keeping your word has to be exposed. If you don't do what you said you are out of integrity." 

And therein lies the challenge of being what I call an integral person - a complete person.

You have to keep your word on the big things - they matter - and leaving your comfort zone and taking a risk (as James ) is part of the process. Despite feeling vulnerable and exposed, you perform and keep your word.


If you have integrity, nothing else matters. Alan Simpson

The Choice (Evolve and Grow)
 

As scary sounding as it is, your word really is your bond.

Is there really a choice then? If your goal and stated intention is to evolve and grow and assume the mantle of the magnificent, abundant human being that you are, how could you possibly achieve it without integrity; the bedrock of your character.

Whenever I find myself in new and unfamiliar situations where I have to feel my way around, as is presently the case, I always ask myself is there any other choice but to take the risk of going forward? Of course not!

Final Thoughts

This is just a taste of James M Lynch's fabulous Workbook for living a passionate joyful life. Consider it another step on your road to self actualization and get it. It's wonderfully incisive, frank and thought-provoking.

For me, the workbook is all about self-love. Either you love yourself enough to be authentic and live your truth or you don't. As he said, it's either "yes" or "no".



If you can not find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?  Ralph Waldo Emerson
















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