Integrity: The Road Less Traveled
After I had kids, life got… messy. I was dropping balls like it was an Olympic sport - missing deadlines, showing up late, bailing on social plans because I was too damned tired to make conversation, let alone be charming. I was overwhelmed by the constant juggling act of being a wife, mom, leader, and friend. Honestly, I didn’t want to manage it better - I wanted to escape it entirely and move into a beach shack with steady Wi-fi and a steady margarita drip. Instead, I hired a coach. (Still not ruling out the beach shack, though.)
The game changer in my life was when my coach introduced me to a radical new idea: that integrity isn’t about perfection, it’s about honoring your word. And honoring your word means two things:
Do what you said you would do, when you said you would do it.
The moment you realize you won’t, or can’t, take responsibility. That means:
Tell everyone who’s impacted that you won’t be keeping your word.
Let them know whether you’ll complete it later (and by when), or not at all.
And - this is the magic part - address the impact your broken word has on them.
Wait what? I could change my mind, make mistakes, and still have integrity? I didn’t need to come up with elaborate excuses involving sick kids, lost emails, or Mercury in retrograde? I could just…tell the truth?
Turns out, yes.
Once I started practicing this, everything got lighter. Instead of scrambling, blaming, or yelling at my kids in a frantic dash out the door, I just communicated. “I’m running late. I’ll be there at 10:15.” Or “I overcommitted and I won’t make the deadline - here’s my new plan.” It was shockingly effective. No drama. Just responsibility. Word restored.
Here’s what I learned: You have more power than you think. Integrity isn’t a moral pedestal - it’s a practice. But you do need to stay in the game, own your impact, and - when necessary—reschedule your meltdown for a later date.