Integrity, true or false
People have many false ideas about integrity. They think it means defending your pride, doing “what I want when I want,” sticking to your own ideas, etc. But honestly, you know better than to put your pride, preferences, and ideas over what is right and true. And you feel guilty and conflicted when you do. Your heart has a better way. To follow that better way is true integrity.
See if you can distinguish between true and false integrity in these options. Would you:
Work reliably at a job for the family’s sake — OR — Quit and lose the family home because you didn’t feel like going to work.
Listen with an open mind and admit it when you’re wrong — OR — Argue even after you know you‘re wrong.
Defend yourself at the cost of relationship harmony — OR — Let go of your pride in order to do right by your mate. Insist that the team do things your way — OR — Go with the best, most effective idea no matter who thought of it. Give your heart sincerely in spite of fear, insecurity, etc. — OR — Withhold your heart and its expressions to stay safe.
Stand up for someone who’s wrongly accused — OR — Refuse to take sides in order to avoid personal risk.
Common signs of following your heart
NOT normally troubled, anxious, or afraid
Feeling generally secure and confident
Enjoying deep, personally intimate communication; communicating sincerely, freely in abundance
Being receptive to love, and to soul-nourishing exchanges Living boldly, freely enjoying what some call “risk”
Socially responsible/aware. Sincerely interested in the human impact of one’s thoughts, attitudes, and actions
Common signs of not following your heart
Suffering from chronic dissatisfaction, guilt, and inner conflict
Feeling insecure, guilty, defensive, self-conscious, unworthy
Shadowed by thoughts and/or deeds you’d hate sharing or having discovered. Strategic, manipulative. Hiding. Guarded.
Fearing, minimizing deep personal exchanges
Living in a careful, timid manner for the sake of self-protection
Oblivious to the impact of one’s thoughts, attitudes and actions: “I don’t want to know and I don’t care” (yeah, right)
Click on the card to view full size