Integrity of Self

Vine and Branches

“I am the vine. You are the branches….You can do nothing apart from me.” -John 15:5

Less and less do I see this verse as a call from God to spend time with him, be in touch with him, go to where he is…He does desire this of us.

More and more do I see this verse as a reminder to us that He sustains, He provides, He gives.

The branches on this vine grow. Not because they forced themselves to be attached to the vine but because they are. It is innate. These branches will not be off the vine.

Yes, we should abide in Christ and seek after the heart of God. More often though, that abiding in Christ is simply acknowledging that we are the branches. We should accept the grace and love from the vine, let it grow in us and build us up.

Integrity of Self

Integrity: the state of being whole and undivided.

Integer-Latin-wholeness

When we have integrity of self we fully participate with who we are. We are aware of the intricacies that make you, you.

Not necessarily a need for the same through our entire life but in each season, being aware of self and letting the integrity of who you come through.

Similar to a building. If it is built with integrity it is solid, whole, firm.

Not only should we be aware of ourselves but we should also be sure to take care of ourselves. Know what we need and take action to fulfill that.

Integrity of self gives us freedom to engage in what is specific to us and say no to that which is not. Integrity of self gives permission to focus on the essential parts of ourselves and disregard that which does not fit.

For example, I am loving my family more fully when I realize I don’t need to spend the extra 10 minutes checking social media at night. The integral part of my life is my family, not my social media account.

We are bound to ourselves. We cannot escape it. When we realize this, we are free to engage as we are, with what we have. There is freedom.

Not only is it freeing but it is also the way for most impact. Potential can be unleashed when we act with Integrity of Self.

Who are you? What is at the center of your three circles? What makes you whole?

Go after that!

Produced Results

Passion Best At Results

Where do you consistently show produced results?

What sort of activities have you been able to prove your skills and abilities with concrete results?

What is driving your practical success forward?

Where do you have readily accessible opportunities to produce, succeed?

These areas show us our practical circumstances and possibilities.

It’s fun to live in the clouds of passion and dreams but this circle of “Produced Results” helps us come down to earth and see reality.

Even though it may not be as lofty as considering passion, it is a valuable area to focus and become more aware.

Looking to call out those activities, opportunities, experiences in which there are tangible results possible helps us see what value we could add.

This circle helps us see robust, lasting, holistic possibilities.

With this awareness, we should narrow our focus and pin point opportunities and arenas to maximize. Focus on those areas which we have practical opportunity and which are currently driving us forward or producing sustaining results.

Passion

Who are you? What makes you feel alive?

We should be on a search for that which drives us. Our passion.

We likely won’t have many, if any, moments where we can pin it down precisely but we should always be seeking after it.

It doesn’t have to be lifelong or indefinite. Passion changes with the seasons.

But knowing that which innately drives us and sustains us is important to spend time investigating.

When was the last time you thought about what makes you feel alive?

Passion Best At Results

More to come on “The Best At” and “Produced Results”. Where there is overlap, there is more potential for long term impact.

Goals

Progress feels good. It re-affirms our ability, identity, role.

We should be sure we are measuring the right thing when looking for that progress or lack thereof.

In order to measure correctly, we must know where we are going. What the target is.

Goals are the heart of progress. Without a goal in mind, how do we know if there is progress?

Sure we can make a bunch of corporate or business goals with measurable outcomes, measurements taken each quarter… At certain times, these are helpful.

More importantly we should each have plans, goals, projected trajectories for ourselves as humans. If we can call out what we are shooting for and keep ourselves accountable for that, the group will benefit. We will benefit.

Where are you lacking motivation? Maybe that is an area for a new goal.

Where do you keep feeling let down? Maybe that is an area for a better goal.

Where do you feel accomplished/energized? Maybe that is an area with a goal that is working.

There are times it is great to just go for a drive without a place to go. That can get frustrating if it is all we do. Often we need a destination.

Where can you call out your destination?

The best in the world…Will+Humility

The best in the world.

The best meaning, the best. Pretty simple.

The world meaning, whatever “world” that may be. The actual entire world, your family, your friend group, your team…

The best in the world have humility and will at their core.

Willpower to push and say, “I made this.” To show RESILIENCE and GRIT in the face of struggle.

To get back up and continue or at times, change direction.

Will alone, will accomplish but impact is magnified when humility is paired.

When the purpose of the will is not about the individual but about the bigger picture, the team, the client, the product.

When will is driven out of an ambition for the institution, not ourselves.

Where can you have more resolve and draw out a strong will?

When you find it, ensure it is befriended by humility.

If you must…

I’m searching for more humility in my life. This poem captures beautiful images of humility. It is not necessarily weak. When you see humility like this, you know.

If you must be heard, let it be like the babbling brook,
laughing over the rocks.

If you must be seen, let it be like sunlight
giving warmth and comfort to all.

If you must be acknowledged, let it be as the eyes
behold the skies in all their glory.

If you must lead, let it be like the wind and all its unshackled direction.

If you must learn, let it be like breathing,
the natural flow of in and out,
and done without thinking.

If you must teach, let it be like the water,
deep and flowing,
for your words are like pebbles in a pond,
the ripples they cause spread out in all directions,
and what you give out eventually returns.

If you must know, let it be flowing and growing.

And above all, if you must:
shine!

-Kerry Hillcoat

Need of Humility

“You can accomplish anything in life, provided that you don’t mind who gets the credit.”-Harry S. Truman

What are you doing that laughs in the face of humility? When do you, deep down, laugh at humility? Mock it for its weakness and dismiss it as for only ‘soft’ people?

For me when I do those things, failure or disappointment are right behind.

Humility is a transcendent quality. It requires us to work at it but in some instances, there’s nothing we can do to develop it. It is a characteristic of the titans of our age. It is not soft by any means but rigorous and defining. When paired with a strong will, it is unstoppable and proven to yield success.

Reflect on what you can do to lean into, more humbleness. Not that there’s any discipline we enact to develop humility but the closer we get to it, the more contagious it is.

“Neither quick nor easy…”

“I was taught that the way forward was neither quick nor easy.”-Marie Curie

I get energized by this. I see that the struggle I experience is the promise of progress. The hardship is the deposit for the return of success. The goal forward is clear. The road is rough but it is still clear.

If we feel de-energized by this, we should consider if we believe in the goal ahead. If we don’t believe in the goal ahead, it won’t be worth the struggle.

We must make that right for ourselves. Work to believe in the goal, change our situation to a different goal, or just sit in the muck and hate it. That choice is ours.