INTEGRITY

Integrity is

consistency of actions,

values, methods, measures,

principles, expectations

and outcome.

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Heading off this year is the 4th of our 6 family values.  I thought this would be a difficult one to teach, but I have recognized that it is easier to explain than I thought.  The difficult thing is to try to be an example of this for my kids.  I always hope to act with integrity and pure purpose.  Yet that is a difficult thing to do at all times.  Thankfully though, I learned early on that if I am not true to myself, then I will never be true to the life I hope to live.  And being true to myself and my belief’s is where the roots of integrity grows.

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“Integrity is telling myself the truth.  And

honesty is telling the truth to other people.”   

-Spencer Johnson

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However, it’s an ongoing process for me to:

‘Say what I mean, and mean what I say.’ 

…to keep my promises always and follow through with commitments on a regular basis.  It’s the little things I guess.  The nights when I promise to snuggle my kids before bed, then by the time bed rolls around, I want to give a quick hug and say “are you sure I didn’t say tomorrow night?  Or when I say, “If you do extra chores today I’ll…and think of something to give them, whatever will stick.  When really I hope they forget I ever promised them something in return.  Those are the daily things I really need to ‘cowboy up’ on.  Those are the simpler things that come to mind when I think of what I should be doing to work on my integrity.  Heaven knows of all the more difficult stuff! 

At any rate, I will continue to trying to do my best to teach these children without feeling inferior to do so.  I am slowly realizing that, though I may not be the best example of all these values…as their parent(s) I know it is my/our responsibility to do so, even while I must learn a long with them through out the rest of MY life, and look toward my Father in Heaven for counsel and guidance.  I know I can make a difference in theirs at the same time.

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“One of the truest tests of integrity is

the blunt refusal to be compromised.”  

-Chinua Achebe