The Integrity Gap

"Be the change

you wish to see"

 

Mahatma Gandhi

In one of the training sessions, we were discussing about values. Many people talked about integrity, as being one of their core values. So, I was trying to relate myself to the value, to see how far I sync with that value. This made me to ponder over this word deeper, to gain a better understanding. I realized integrity is when our thoughts, words and actions are in alignment. In other words, when we mean what we say and act according to it, then we have integrity.

 

We have often heard this quote, "Practice what you preach and preach what you practice". I dissected this quote further, to see if both the sentences of the quote mean the same. I realized that though it sounds rhyming and similar, they are different, when it comes to our practical life. Let's consider each of them separately and see how it is different.

 

The first line is "Practice what you preach".  Though, it is easy to say this, it is difficult for most of us, as we don’t tend to practice what we preach.

Many times, we are good at giving advice to others or telling how people should ideally live, but when we do an honest introspection of ourselves, we don’t follow the same. For example, Doctors advise us to take healthy foods and avoid unhealthy habits, but not all of them follow it. Similarly, lawyer who are meant to protect the law are the ones who find the loopholes to escape the law. Also, life skill coaches or trainers, who teach how one should behave, don’t exhibit the ideal behaviour. So, this integrity gap exists with almost all the professions.  We don’t always practice what we preach.  This may make us seem like a hypocrite, to others.  This could also put a pressure in us, to protect our image, by being socially conscious.  This leads to being afraid, that someone might catch us wrong or mock at our integrity gap. Both can be stressful.

 The second line is "Preach what you practice". This is a little easier as compared to the previous because you are just telling what you are already doing. However, this may sound like self-boasting which is not often taken well by others. Moreover, not everyone thinks and feels the same. People have different ways of doing things or dealing with an issue. The world is full of choices and so people can decide to live the life their wish. So, when we tend to get preachy, people may get averse to us and avoid us.

 

So, here is the third alternative which I think is a better option. "Just practice, but don't preach". When you decide to follow this approach, you just live your life, the way you think and feel is right. There may be few things that you do, which could impress people and make them want to emulate your behaviour.

 

For example, if you are always punctual, people might get impressed by your punctuality and try to emulate the same.  Similarly, if you always follow the traffic rules, such as wearing a seat belt/ helmet, not over speeding, stopping at signals etc., irrespective of whether the policeman is watching or not, then people might find this as a good practice, get inspired and follow the same.  So, there is absolutely no pressure on you. At the same time, you are creating a positive change just by the way you are.

 

Like the saying goes, "Action speaks louder than words", let your actions speak loud and clear. This will surely reduce the internal conflicts within you and help pave the way to bridge the integrity gap.

 D. Senthil Kannan,

 CEO, PALMS Training & Consulting (P) Ltd., Tuticorin.

 Author of "Transformational Thoughts" - A Journey of learning 

 Email: senthilkannand@gmail.com