“Have you been busy?” I find that I frequently get asked this question as a conversation starter. It is similar to people asking, “How are you?” People expect me to reply yes and bemoan how busy life is. We wear busyness like a badge of honor and proof of significance, and then often complain about it. Instead, I wish people would ask each other, “Have you been being intentional?” Are you living in an intentional way that allows you to be whole and to be your best?
A definition of integrity is the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished. A great majority of people will say that integrity is a core value for them. They say that they try to live honestly and ethically. Yet, are they being honest with themselves? They are busy and maybe even trying to do good things, but are they living life full and abundantly? Do they feel like they are whole with an undivided mind? Or are they diminishing each day?
A life of integrity is one where you make intentional choices that allow you to be whole, entire and undiminished. It is a life that allows you to be your best for yourself and also for others. So, how do we live a life of integrity?
Integrity Revealed in Strengths
Recently I was preparing a workshop on understanding and applying your strengths. I was reviewing the core values of the organization with whom I was providing the workshop. One of their core values is truth, and they list integrity as a way of demonstrating truth. Empowering all of their team members to live by their strengths is living their core value of truth through integrity.
Living authentically to your strengths is living what is true about you. It is being true to how God made you. When you live this way, you are being whole, entire and undiminished. My friend, Jamie Levy, says that integrity is “Fidelity to the original, which is God and truth.” Top performers know this secret. Studies show that their success is in being aware of their strengths and living authentically to them.
Integrity Revealed in Rhythms
Living whole, entire, and undivided does not mean that life is always lived at a steady pace. Sometimes our schedules will be very full and busy, while other times it may be slow and quiet. The defining difference is intentionality. A life of integrity is intentional. You make intentional choices about what activities you do because they correspond with your purpose. These activities contribute to you being whole and who you are. A life of integrity is not busy to meet others expectations or to prove worth.
A life of integrity is also comfortable with silence and solitude. It is a person being comfortable just being with him or herself. They like themselves. J This is a time that contributes to their wholeness. It refuels them and keeps them from being undivided. They gain clarity to be intentional.
Integrity Revealed in Community
We can strive to be whole in and of ourselves, but this does not constitute completeness. We can work to be our best individually and still be lacking. There is a line in the movie, Jerry McGuire, where Tom Cruise says to Renee Zellweger, “You complete me.” Ultimately, to be fully whole and to reach the heights of integrity, we must live in community. Each of us has certain strengths, but none of us have all of the possible strengths. We need others in order to be fully complete.
Integrity also applies to organizations, teams and families. To reach a greater mission beyond ourselves, we need others. I find that as I work in a team with a common mission and values, I also feel more joy and abundance. I become even better, each person becomes better, and the world around us becomes better.
So, are you busy or intentional? Are you whole or divided? Are you alone in a crowd or complete in community? Are you living a life of integrity?