Integrity matters ……..and that means we must always be honest with ourselves. This requires an integrated character – unity with life and with self. We cannot separate ourselves from our actions. There are no disclaimers in our language. We are always responsible for our choices and the effects they create. You may try to justify your actions……but you won’t be able to talk yourself out of something you behaved your way in to. So have a conversation with yourself. Look into your heart and examine your values, and your agreements and use the filter of “Does this still work for me?” Everything you do communicates…..and so you need to ensure that what it communicates is true to your authentic self.
Deep in your heart are those things you know…..those things you bury. They are the nagging thoughts, doubts, and things that you have assigned to another day. Examine them now……your denial will not take them away and the longer they are buried, the more powerful they become. We can be traumatized in 30 seconds by our thoughts and so it stands to reason that we can take the wind out of a bad thought by taking action. True action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility. So position yourself to be ready for responsibility. Require a relationship of integrity with yourself…… one that starts in your heart.
Stephen Covey said “Many people with secondary greatness – that is social recognition for their talents – lack primary greatness or goodness in their character. Sooner or later, you’ll see this in every long-term relationship they have, whether it is with a business associate, a spouse, or a friend. It is character that communicates most eloquently. In developing our own self-awareness many of us discover ineffective scripts, deeply imbedded habits that are totally unworthy of us, totally incongruent with the things we really value in life. In the last analysis what we are communicates far more eloquently than anything we say or do. Your problems begin first in your own heart”