The levels of integrity have been something that has been pushed to the wayside over the years. Due to that reason, I knew I had to create a Tune-Up Series(TUS) where I speak on what integrity is and why it is so important. We have already become a society filled with people who throw someone else under the bus to spare their name. As you can imagine, this does not lead to great mindsets in our world. Today, we will address the levels of integrity by breaking down what they are and how to reach that level as a society.

The definition of integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. This essentially is the makeup of your character and value system, allowing a person to develop an identity. That identity becomes a person’s truth, whether the world sees it as right or wrong. That means that a person can have poor integrity or have a false identity but still be considered morally correct if that is their belief. If you believe something long enough, it will eventually become your truth and code to follow.

 Though integrity can be washed away when a person instills their value system into the fray, some underlying things cannot be adjusted to fit one’s belief system. Depending on the area, it will require a different look because one cannot be swayed(mandatory area) by a person’s individuality, while the other area can(dependent on the individual).

The Three Mandatory Areas

• Keeping commitments (to others and ourselves)

• Being true to one’s principles.

• Be true to yourself.

The Four areas dependent on the individual

• Transparency

• Accountability

• Participation

• Anti-corruption

Understanding the basics of these areas will allow you to assess any person in the world once you have enough information. Dating is one of the most common areas when we start to look at a person as a good/bad fit in our life. During the whole process of dating someone, you are trying to figure out if they are a good fit for you. This also happens with hires being interviewed for a job. The company wants to make sure that they hire the right person for the job and someone with the same integrity as the company. It is to be said that like-minded people attract others, while the “outcasts” are ridiculed and hated.

There needs to be an understanding that multiple groups hold integrity differently. The first group is the people who have low standards. These people will not commit to themselves or others, will not hold to their beliefs and systems, and are essentially the victims when things go wrong. These people will throw someone under the bus to save their skin as long as they are not group members. The best way to explain this is to talk about political parties.

Currently, the Biden administration is in power, which means that the Democrats control the house and senate. These people are on the same team and in the same area. That means they will have each other’s back as long as their principles remain in alignment. The group as a whole will protect one another even if the other person is wrong. These people will play the victim card and manipulate data to have things go in their favor. These people will not see the harm in doing it until it is too late. The good news is that there is a balance between this group and the second group.

The second group will be the people who hold different values from the first group, but they are more accountable than the first group. This is because the levels of integrity in the second group are higher than in the first group. This group has higher standards, and the people understand that they cannot be victims. Though this group will outcast someone more quickly than the first group, it allows the group to remain accountable.

Accountability is the major pro of the second group. If someone can be accountable for their actions, it raises the probability of being reliable. I would rather have someone on my team who makes a mistake and owns up to it than have someone who passes off the blame onto someone else or a circumstance. I can almost guarantee that you are more in line with group two if you read my content on a consistent basis. Group one tends to operate on known data and remain ignorant, while group two is more interested in learning and growth.

Though these groups are not what we need to look at when looking at the levels of integrity, it is nice to understand them before we dive into the levels of integrity. The levels will touch base with all the areas written above and on these three key talking points.

1. Personal

2. Relational

3. Societal 

The breakdown of these three areas will allow you to see what level of integrity you are at. There will be no calculation to determine if you are a person of integrity or not. If you want to find out that information, then all you have to do is go back to the areas of integrity and ask someone you are close with to use those areas to rate you. If you can be honest, you can do it yourself, but if you are blinded by yourself and cannot self-assess or take an introspective look into who you are, you will need someone to help you figure it out.

To begin this process, you must understand one thing about yourself: your character. You have to know what type of person you are, so when we go through these three talking points, you will have a good representation of your true self. They say that your soul or character allows a person to have an internal dialogue with you. When you look more closely at your inner conversations, you might begin to notice what type of person you are. That could be ambitious, caring, kind, loving, hateful, pessimistic, optimistic, etc. Whatever you conclude, be how you approach the key talking points.

Personal

The word integrity also has another meaning, and that means structural stability. We can either have a stable or unstable relationship in our relationship. That integrity aspect will determine the level of the relationship. Of course, you would keep your more stable relationships closer to you than the unstable ones. If you do the opposite, you will notice how volatile your life will be in general. We should be looking to create and nurture stability in our life. That is what integrity will come down to at the end of the day.

Personal integrity will deal with staying committed to one of the most influential people in your life. When you commit to yourself, you will start developing a stronger mindset. That means that you are willing to work and fulfill any requirements necessary to progress in life. This should be the lowest level of integrity, but the lowest level is your self-worth/self-esteem. How do you feel about yourself? Do you hold yourself and your time as valuable? If not, this point on personal integrity will be quintessential for breaking out of that shell.

You have to keep one main idea in mind when working on this area. That idea is that you have to be a person you would be glad to be in 10 years. If you can aspire to be someone you want in life, you will start to become accountable for the outcomes of your life. You will create a character that will guide your moral compass and decipher right from wrong. I find that many people have lost the ability to know what is morally right today. Whether that be because of television or poor parenting, we have an issue with how people live in society. People tend to understand that their life is more important than someone else’s. This way of thinking is the direct belief of your character.

If you have a poor character in personal integrity, you will see that unhappiness will start to spring up more in your life. If you have poor feelings, people will not trust you or associate with you. That means you will be left alone, and though it might sound nice at first, there will come the point where you need a person, and they won’t be there for you. That will be one of the greatest regrets you will have if it comes down to it. Your integrity should be held in high regard, and you should make every effort to be the best version of yourself. You should communicate clearly and know what is right for your life.

Relational

This talking point can also be looked at as being structurally stable. I do not know many people who would choose a broken relationship over a structurally sound relationship. However, if we look at relationships today, we can see how many people are in bad relationships. Whether those relationships are toxic, negative, abusive, or nurturing, we should look at the structure of a relationship’s confines. We should determine if that relationship is filled with commitment, teamwork, and love. Suppose those are not present; you will have to figure out why.

The relationships you choose to keep in your life will have a more considerable effect than you may believe. There is a saying that if you hang around nine broke people, you will be the tenth. However, if you hang around nine successful people, you will be the tenth. In a sense, we are a product of our environment, but that doesn’t mean our environment has to define who we will be our whole life. If you are in a relationship that you do not see standing the test of time, then take the lessons from it and move on. Though that is easier said than done because a relationship helps to keep us grounded.

Many people want to feel loved, appreciated and wanted in life. The easiest way to get that is from the relations you keep. As you will see in the following area, society will not care about you, but your close relationships should be something you can hold onto. Those relationships should help you become a better person. They should be there to keep you on the right path and help you become a better person. This is not to say that you do not have to take any action. If you have someone pushing you to be something better in life, you will rise to that challenge. This is where having solid and healthy relationships shine the most. Yes, you can make great strides alone, but you can go so much further as a team.

I find that relational integrity is a necessary part of the success you can attain. The people around you should have similar mindsets and should have your best interests at heart. They should have similar principles, beliefs, and values. This will help you see their words as encouragement instead of criticism—the premise of knowing how valuable a relationship is essential. That is because you may take it for granted if it is not something you are aware of. Working as a team will be good for you and them.

 That is why it is crucial to look at your close relationships and define if they are weak or strong. If they are weak, do you want to strengthen them, or do you want to get rid of them? If they are strong, do you want to utilize them or run away from them? The choice might seem obvious, but it is a choice many people have difficulty coming to pass. I understand it can be challenging to let go of people or things you are familiar with, but the downside of keeping something that should be let go will act as an anchor and drag you down.

Societal

Though society has a structure, it is more dependent on most people. Though some people might be in ruins, it doesn’t mean that your life has to be the same. The most dangerous thing about society is its beliefs for the people. If someone is not operating under what is expected in society, they are outcasted or ridiculed. Today, our community is creating a toxic environment where this thinking is prominent. That thinking will include entitlement, negative behavior, corruption, deceit, etc. There are so many things that society has going against it, but we should also see the good.

The good from society will have to be broken down into blocks to see it more clearly. The first look will be into your local community. That local community will be your general or primary society. If you can be familiar with and satisfied with that society, you can move out. If not, you will start to develop poor personal and relational integrity. Society has a significant influence on the final product if you let it. That is because peer pressure is so powerful. That means that the structure of who you are becoming needs strength. What happens is that people mold their society and use it as the backbone of their moral compass.

The problem with societal integrity today is that it is a different beast. We are dealing with a society filled with corruption, no accountability, separation, division, prejudice, hate, etc. These negative factors make it more challenging for people to come together and be as one people. As long as society is separated because of the differences in our principles and morals, we will have conflict. This is not to say that you have to agree with everyone in society. People are meant to be different, and the same is true by your integral standards. It would be unfair to mandate everyone follow the orders of “society,” but in our world today, that is what society is calling for. They call for full compliance and sacrificing your own free will and choice.

That leads us to the last and most critical part of societal integrity, and that is the level of hypocrisy that has permeated the structures of what is normal society. What has happened over the years is that people would develop double standards. People want you to do what they want, but they say it doesn’t apply to them when asked to follow their orders. This happens when society tells people how to operate under the premise that they will not be a part of society anymore if they do not. This threatening manner only creates further divide and will cause the structures of society to decay until they become unstable and collapse.

In closing, there is much more to be said about the levels of integrity when it comes to our personal life, relationships, and society as a whole. The takeaway from this TUS is to define your principles in life. That will include your character, which correlates to your moral compass. We have to learn to become more accountable for our actions. That will allow society to heal and form better bonds with each other. That is because the account will be present in everyone’s life. There will be no need to blame others for their life or the circumstances we find ourselves in. If you want to achieve a higher level of integrity in any area, I spoke about today, sign up for some coaching.

Until then,

Michael Rearden

Founder of Reven Concepts