living up to Integrity
I wrote recently about an experience where I had to step up and live up to my values.
Values are an interesting thing. They’re the very core of who we are, and yet many of us don’t think a lot about them. I know I didn’t. Until recently that is, when I started working with a branding specialist on my business brand as a professional speaker and emcee.
This exercise of getting right down to the very basics of what makes me tick, what’s important in my life, and what guides my decisions and actions, has set such a foundation for me. If you’ve never done it, I highly recommend it!
Because ultimately our values are Our Value! When we know them and live by them, they are how we show up in every moment and give our very best – to our family, our friends, our clients, our colleagues, and the world.
And to ourselves. A huge piece of building the pinnacle of health – self love – is standing strong and true beside those things we believe in beyond all else.
It turns out that my number one value is integrity, with a side dish of accountability. Here's how that shows up in my life:
First, it's all about me: Integrity means holding myself to the highest standards of honesty, transparency, and commitment. It means checking myself against this signpost for all my actions and decisions. So that I can trust myself to do the right thing, even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard. And doing it even when no one else is looking (which, let's face it, is sometimes the hardest part!)
Second, it's about how others experience me: Integrity means that others can trust me to do what I say I will do and to work to solve problems or challenges with clarity, respect, and compassion. And if I mess up, as I sometimes do, you can expect me to own it and repair it.
And finally, it’s about how I experience others: Integrity means that in my life and business I cultivate individuals and communities who hold themselves to this standard as well. For me, integrity is a deal sealer (and alternatively, a deal breaker). And as we look around the world right now and see so many examples of what NOT living in integrity looks like and its impacts, holding this correct space is even more important.
I’m curious – Is integrity one of your values? How does that look in your life, work, business? Has there been a time when it’s been challenged, and what did you do?
#wellness #livingyourvalues #integrity #self-love
