Dr. Henry Cloud wrote a book entitled "Integrity." Let's examine what he says about integrity.
We all have a general idea of what integrity means. Typically, it is doing what you say you will do when you say you will do it, in addition to having strong moral convictions and follow through so that your actions match what you say. Your words and your actions are integrated…working together. The dictionary defines integrity as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, moral uprightness, or the state of being whole and integrated.
In returning to our third-grade math class we learned that an integer is a whole number, versus a fraction, a part of a whole. So, if you are integrated you are operating out of both sides of your brain. You are operating from your “whole self.” Many of us will typically use one side of our brain far more than the other. The left side is database informational processing, 1, 2, 3, 2+2, past present future, etc. This is where we make sense of our world asking the "why" question and looking for an answer to that question. The right side of your brain is more intuitive. It is the side where you emotionally connect with others. The left brain tells you facts about someone but your right brain connects with them on a different level, an emotional level, a personal level. This is understanding them, showing empathy, validating their perspective and connecting emotionally so the other person feels heard, rather than being dismissed. When we respond to someone with a solution to their problem, they will typically not feel heard and validated. Likewise when we defend our actions, once again we are not operating from a position of integration (both sides of our brain are involved in the exchange).
Dr. Cloud goes a bit deeper in defining integrity. The brain is divided into two sides and those sides must communicate with one another, be integrated. That is the job of the Corpus Callosum, a thick band of nerve fibers in the center of the brain. In addition to allowing us to perceive depth, it also facilitates the transfer of motor, sensory, and cognitive information between the two hemispheres. This structure is so named from Latin word meaning "tough body." It is the largest white matter structure both in terms of size and the number of axonal projections between the two hemispheres. White matter means neural networks covered in a myelinated sheath which allows for ultra-fast processing. Myelination is the process of coating neurons with myelin, the insulation that helps the transfer of information between neurons. God designed our brains to work together. That is integration, using both sides of our brain to make wise decisions, think clearly, and have emotions that connect with what we are seeing, and thinking about. It is paying attention to what is going on in the left linear thinking brain, but feeling the emotions that go with the event and healthily processing them.
So, from the word integrity, we get whole or integrated. He writes that integrity is thus the ability to bring our whole selves to bear upon life's challenges. It is the courage to face the demands of reality. This is the ability to bring all of us, our whole self to life's circumstances and make decisions based on the integration of our left thinking brain and our right feeling brain, not making decisions using thinking and logic only, nor making decisions from emotions. Integration is bringing all aspects of our character to make a whole person, one that is "altogether," both sides of our brain working together, functioning together. When we focus on our career, without the same attention to our spiritual growth, we are not integrated. For example if we focus on taking care of one part of our body—exercise, but we fail to eat correctly, the whole body will suffer. One part of our life shrivels while we focus on another aspect and lopsided growth occurs which is a symptom of some aspect of disintegration. The integrated person has the same drive and hunger in all aspects of life. Looking a little closer and analyzing the tendency to say "yes" when we mean "no," shows a lack in integrity. Saying "yes," and then not following through on our agreement is not walking in integrity. If we speak to appease and then do not follow through—is again, no integrity. This can be difficult because sometimes we certainly intend to follow through, but then lack of commitment, gives way to emotional thinking no follow through.
Obviously different personalities have different strengths. If someone is attentive to structure, following the rules, and is rigid in their thinking they will likely need to pay more attention to their feelings. Someone else may be less rigid and lean more toward spontaneity, operating from their emotions. One person lets their thinking be in charge to a fault and the other allows their emotions to run the show. Both of these personalities are not operating out of an integrated brain. Are you able to bring your whole, and complete integrated self to face the reality of your circumstances and embrace it with faith and trust that you will make it through this event exercising integrity? You are not discounting your feelings, but balancing your feelings with correct cognitive thinking. This is bringing both feelings/emotions coupled with correct logical thinking to bear on the situation and face the reality of life's demands, whole-heartedly, and integrated with both sides of your brain, emotion, and reasoning to make wise decisions for the best possible outcome.
BE A PERSON OF INTEGRITY BY DOING WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL DO, WHEN YOU SAY YOU WILL DO IT.
We all have a general idea of what integrity means. Typically, it is doing what you say you will do when you say you will do it, in addition to having strong moral convictions and follow through so that your actions match what you say. Your words and your actions are integrated…working together. The dictionary defines integrity as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, moral uprightness, or the state of being whole and integrated.
In returning to our third-grade math class we learned that an integer is a whole number, versus a fraction, a part of a whole. So, if you are integrated you are operating out of both sides of your brain. You are operating from your “whole self.” Many of us will typically use one side of our brain far more than the other. The left side is database informational processing, 1, 2, 3, 2+2, past present future, etc. This is where we make sense of our world asking the "why" question and looking for an answer to that question. The right side of your brain is more intuitive. It is the side where you emotionally connect with others. The left brain tells you facts about someone but your right brain connects with them on a different level, an emotional level, a personal level. This is understanding them, showing empathy, validating their perspective and connecting emotionally so the other person feels heard, rather than being dismissed. When we respond to someone with a solution to their problem, they will typically not feel heard and validated. Likewise when we defend our actions, once again we are not operating from a position of integration (both sides of our brain are involved in the exchange).
Dr. Cloud goes a bit deeper in defining integrity. The brain is divided into two sides and those sides must communicate with one another, be integrated. That is the job of the Corpus Callosum, a thick band of nerve fibers in the center of the brain. In addition to allowing us to perceive depth, it also facilitates the transfer of motor, sensory, and cognitive information between the two hemispheres. This structure is so named from Latin word meaning "tough body." It is the largest white matter structure both in terms of size and the number of axonal projections between the two hemispheres. White matter means neural networks covered in a myelinated sheath which allows for ultra-fast processing. Myelination is the process of coating neurons with myelin, the insulation that helps the transfer of information between neurons. God designed our brains to work together. That is integration, using both sides of our brain to make wise decisions, think clearly, and have emotions that connect with what we are seeing, and thinking about. It is paying attention to what is going on in the left linear thinking brain, but feeling the emotions that go with the event and healthily processing them.
So, from the word integrity, we get whole or integrated. He writes that integrity is thus the ability to bring our whole selves to bear upon life's challenges. It is the courage to face the demands of reality. This is the ability to bring all of us, our whole self to life's circumstances and make decisions based on the integration of our left thinking brain and our right feeling brain, not making decisions using thinking and logic only, nor making decisions from emotions. Integration is bringing all aspects of our character to make a whole person, one that is "altogether," both sides of our brain working together, functioning together. When we focus on our career, without the same attention to our spiritual growth, we are not integrated. For example if we focus on taking care of one part of our body—exercise, but we fail to eat correctly, the whole body will suffer. One part of our life shrivels while we focus on another aspect and lopsided growth occurs which is a symptom of some aspect of disintegration. The integrated person has the same drive and hunger in all aspects of life. Looking a little closer and analyzing the tendency to say "yes" when we mean "no," shows a lack in integrity. Saying "yes," and then not following through on our agreement is not walking in integrity. If we speak to appease and then do not follow through—is again, no integrity. This can be difficult because sometimes we certainly intend to follow through, but then lack of commitment, gives way to emotional thinking no follow through.
Obviously different personalities have different strengths. If someone is attentive to structure, following the rules, and is rigid in their thinking they will likely need to pay more attention to their feelings. Someone else may be less rigid and lean more toward spontaneity, operating from their emotions. One person lets their thinking be in charge to a fault and the other allows their emotions to run the show. Both of these personalities are not operating out of an integrated brain. Are you able to bring your whole, and complete integrated self to face the reality of your circumstances and embrace it with faith and trust that you will make it through this event exercising integrity? You are not discounting your feelings, but balancing your feelings with correct cognitive thinking. This is bringing both feelings/emotions coupled with correct logical thinking to bear on the situation and face the reality of life's demands, whole-heartedly, and integrated with both sides of your brain, emotion, and reasoning to make wise decisions for the best possible outcome.
BE A PERSON OF INTEGRITY BY DOING WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL DO, WHEN YOU SAY YOU WILL DO IT.
RSS Feed