14-Day Love Challenge

I just found a 14-day challenge to love one another. I'm going to start it tomorrow, and I am really excited. I'm not exactly sure how it is going to relate to integrity. Some days may have a clearer connection than others, but I know that every day I am going to complete the challenge or the task with full purpose of heart. In that way, I will show my integrity. I am doing this challenge willingly, and I am publicly announcing that I will give it my all!

Stay tuned to see how it goes :)

#LoveOneAnother

Writing Lies to Reveal Truth

A few days ago, one of my classmates told this story of a friend of hers who wrote about an experience. In this essay and in the experience the girl described tons of emotion. My classmate said that it really moved people. However, the friend later disclosed that the event had never taken place. It wasn't remotely true. But all of the emotion was.

I thought this was really interesting. It got me thinking about integrity. Was the girl correct in making up an experience just to convey the emotion? Is that piece of writing one of integrity? Did the girl represent herself truly? I don't claim to have the answer to any of these questions. But I think they are worth thinking about.

Having Integrity in ALL I do

Today one of my coworkers asked me how diligent we needed to be in keeping track of our hours. She was concerned because we are only allowed to work so many hours and she didn't want to cause any problems if she went even a few minutes over. She was considering working a few minutes under her allotted hours to be safe.

I'm honestly not sure what would happen if we all worked a few minutes over our maximum time. I'd never really thought about it. I've never come close to going over on my hours so I don't tend to keep track. However, her question made me think. At first I didn't see a problem going a few minutes over. It might cost our employer a few dollars more each paycheck, but if we were working that time, didn't we earn the money? But with further reflection, I realize that the money isn't our to earn. We offered to work so many hours a week, not more or less. This has left me with a desire to be more conscientious of my time. Even if I don't go close to working over my hours, I want to be aware of how much I have worked each week. I want to be fully accountable for my time.

Personal Statement

Yesterday in my Shakespeare class, I gave a presentation about wholesome literature. I focused on Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing. In my class, we defined wholesome literature as literature that nourishes and edifies. This has been an eyeopening concept for me because even though Shakespeare's plays tend to have some questionable content, I have always felt like the good far outweighs the bad. There is so much to learn from Shakespeare's writing. Real life lessons that make me a better person. I've also come to understand that when someone is so focused on the bad or objectionable content, that is all they will see and they will be blinded to anything else. The opposite is also true. If someone is so focused on what they can learn and the good that can come from literature, then that is what they will see.

Now, this doesn't mean I will read or watch just anything. I would lose my integrity if I completely gave up my standards. I'm not supporting inappropriate material in any way. In our class, we all had to write personal statements about what kind of entertainment we would read or watch, and what we would stay away from. And that is what I think everyone should do. Writing my personal statement has become a sort of moral code for me. I have the desire to follow my statement and I think my integrity would be questioned if I were untrue to it. 

The Power of Thought

In class this week, we talked a lot about the power of thought. We watched a video that explained two studies in which the power of thought were emphasized. In the first, one group was told to practice the piano daily and another group was told to mentally practice the piano daily. The group that physically practiced improved more, but the other group also improved their piano skills and it was easier for them to catch up. In another study, one group was told to physically perform some finger strengthening exercises and the other group was told to think about performing the exercises. At the end of the study, the first group increased muscle strength by 30% and the group that only thought about exercising increased by 22%.

We also talked about how changing the way we think and what we think about can lead to changing our desires. This got me thinking about integrity. If my thoughts are full of integrity and good intentions, then my desires will also be good. I have the power to change my thoughts and desires when I notice thoughts that are not in accordance with who I want to be. That is just fascinating to me.

Finding a Desire to Live with Integrity

So, I just read Neal A. Maxwell's talk "According to the Desire of [Our] Hearts." It was really good and I learned a lot from it. His talk doesn't specifically have anything to do with integrity, but his thoughts on what and how we desire definitely relate to living a life with greater integrity. I love how he explains how deep desire is. It isn't passive or fleeting. It is deep and it shapes who we will become. I also love how he mentioned that desire is a personal choice. Parents can guide their children, and God's hand is always extended, but desire has to start from within.

Having a better understanding of desire, makes me want to have a stronger desire to live a life of integrity. I now understand that this desire has to be active and deeply rooted within me. It also needs to be my own personal choice. Living a life of integrity has to be a choice, a personal choice. And I have to have a deeply rooted commitment and desire. The article left me thinking about what desires in my life may aid or hinder me from living life with integrity.

Defining Integrity

My name is Shelby and I'm taking a class about integrity and character building. For my first entry, I want to define what integrity means to me. Foremost, I think it is being true, open, and honest to what you know is right. Secondly, and most importantly, I think it is wanting to have and willingly having these attributes. Someone can be honest and true to what is right, but if they display these characteristics begrudgingly, they don't really have integrity.

As I post to this blog, I will be evaluating my own personal integrity and commenting on how it is strengthened and better understood. I will also examine issues of integrity in the things I read and in the interactions I see around me.