I-Insist On Integrity
In· teg· ri· ty – the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness:
To most, integrity means honesty or truthfulness along with its three close siblings congruence, humility, and courage. For those reading this tenet of building your 'belief' towards discovering your full potential and assume 'integrity' = 'sainthood'; you may be sadly disappointed.
Embodying 'integrity' doesn't mean that you are always right and never wrong or always good and never bad. Integrity is like the root of a tree; though underground and not visible, it's vital to nourishment, strength, stability, and growth. As human beings, by definition, we are often in a state of being out of integrity more often than not. If you're among those who question this and think you are the epitome of 'integrity' and err very little if not at all, then I'd like to ask you the following:
How often have you said your going to do something and didn't do it? (I.e. - follow through on your promises, turn off a light, show up or leave at the precise time you agreed to, lose the precise amount of weight you said you'd lose and by when, eat a specific diet and never altered your choices...I trust you get the point.)
If you're guilty of doing any of the above, though seemingly not that big of a deal, by definition you're out of integrity. The reality of integrity has less to do with what you commit to but more so of what you don't. The level in which you underpromise and overdeliver to yourself and others, correlates directly with the level of integrity your life demonstrates. The higher you go up the ladder of discovering your full potential, the more people you'll need to support you. Your ability to influence them to do it out of desire rather than directive will exponentially multiply the probability that you'll accomplish your goals, the speed in which you'll acquire it, and the 'belief' necessary to realize it.
Your ability to 'believe' in an outcome that hasn't physically been manifested yet will be a function of recognizing the answers to your questions along the journey of learning how you're going to accomplish it. This is provided through your own trial and error along with others' contributions, counsel, expertise, insights, and wisdom. These sages will show up in your life due to their ability to trust you because you've removed the spiritual barriers of faith by demonstrating ever higher levels of integrity. As evidence that you're on the right path continues to be revealed, your 'belief' in the yet to be manifestation of your dream increases. As your results and 'belief' increase, so does the number of people and their guidance multiply unto you. This snowball effect is the essence of and revelation of 'belief'.
If you want to destroy momentum, slow down the process, or impede your 'belief'; all you have to do is turn up the dial on having a lack of integrity. When what you say and what you do don't match up, you start to erode confidence in yourself, which then erodes other's confidence in you, which ultimately erodes your ability to truly 'believe'. This is why insisting on integrity, starting with you, is so critical in building 'belief'.
The good news is this, you can shift being out of integrity at any moment and extract its power by simply choosing to. You are not beholden to your past record of acting out of integrity as if it's your only future. The moment you choose to acknowledge you're being out of integrity, clean it up, make new promises and keep them; is the beginning of changing this trajectory. The more frequently you do this, the stronger it grows. The stronger it grows, the more your 'belief' accelerates.
If you struggle with integrity thus hindering your 'belief' and want a step by step formula for making it an unquestioned part of your life; here are seven (7) qualities that if taken on will allow you to be the rare and extraordinary human being that wears integrity as their impenetrable armor.
Integrity – Honor your word. That is, do what you said you would do by when you said you would do it. When you don’t, clean it up, make new promises and keep them
Powerful – Be straight in your communication and take what you get. When you speak from a space of ‘love and understanding’ rather than 'high-mindedness and judgement', you can say anything to anyone
Racket Free – Give up having to be “right” and “righteous” while making everyone, thing, place, and circumstance around you “wrong”
Courageous – Acknowledge your fear and act anyway. “The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are, for what we could become” – Charles Dubois
Peaceful – Give up, ‘There is something wrong here.’ “Nothing is neither good nor bad but thinking makes it so” – Shakespeare
Charismatic – Give up ‘In order to’ and ‘trying to get somewhere.’ “You can’t get where you’re not already” – Van Carrigan
Enrolling – Share new possibilities in such a way that others are touched, moved and inspired by that possibility
Though it may seem challenging, living a life of integrity is worth everything it takes to embody and more. There are few things in life as fulfilling, blissful, or tranquil as laying your head down at night knowing you have nothing to rectify backwards because you've lived your life as best as possible through operating out of integrity.
As we are now over halfway home along the path of learning how to increase our ability to 'believe' and it's critical role in discovering our full potential, let's pause for a moment, take a deep breath and revel in the journey thus far.
I – Insist on Integrity
If you've read this far and are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel, recommitted to your otherwise almost forgotten dreams, or realize you're just getting started on this journey of discovering your full potential, I'd like you to know this. You're not on the path alone, but rather arm in arm amongst the greatest human beings to have ever graced this earth. Join me in recognizing your magnificence through the transcendent words of Marianne Williamson;
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
We have three (3) posts left for you to see what I know regarding your magnificence. Be not weary in well doing for in due time you shall reap the harvest as long as you;
Believe...