Integrity as a Way of Being – The Power in Every Choice...

Integrity isn’t just about the big, defining moments in life - It’s also in the small, everyday choices we make.

Integrity is a way of being.  It’s a commitment, a choice we make in every moment.

We make about 35,000 choices a day.  Meaning that we have an opportunity to choose integrity 35,000 times a day.

I used to think integrity was something you either had or didn’t have.  Turns out integrity is not static.  It’s dynamic.  We must actively choose integrity over, and over, and over again.

When I was 20, I worked at a very busy coffee shop in Vancouver at the Vancouver General Hospital.  One day, my boss asked me to clean the dirt that was building up in the grooves where the floor met the walls.  And after the morning coffee rush, I got down on my hands and knees and started scrubbing.

A co-worker walked by, paused, and said, “You have a strong sense of integrity.”

I didn’t know if she had just insulted me or given me a compliment!

When I got home that day, I grabbed my dictionary.  We didn’t have Google back then, but as I riffled through the paper pages, I found the word…

Integrity:  Firm adherence to a code of principles.  The state of being whole, complete, or undivided.  Soundness of character. 

Huh?  What does that even mean?  I still had no clue whether my co-worker had insulted me or complemented me.

A few weeks later, I asked a friend, “Is integrity a good thing or a bad thing?”  They looked at me kind of funny and said, “It’s good.  100% good.  Integrity is a good thing.”

What a relief!  Turns out my co-worker had complimented me!  Yet I still didn’t know what integrity meant.  But I had it.  I had a strong sense of integrity.

Many, many years later, I came across another definition.  Brené Brown says that:  Integrity is choosing courage over comfort; choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy; and choosing to practice our values rather than simply professing them.

Integrity isn’t something you have or don’t have.  Integrity is not static.  It’s dynamic.  We must actively choose integrity.  We have the power to choose integrity in every choice we make. 

Keep in mind that being out of integrity isn’t about being bad - Rather it’s about being out of alignment with our values and who we say we are. 

Integrity is also not about perfection - It’s about awareness and commitment.  It’s a practice.  In fact, I’m still discerning what integrity means.  Integrity is in the 35,000 choices we make every day including the choices we make when no one is watching. 

Every time we choose integrity, we strengthen not just our character, but the foundation of our lives - Shaping not just ourselves, but those around us. 

Integrity is a way of being.  Will you choose integrity in your next choice?

© Brooke Somers (2025)