Consistency feels like a fundamental requirement to having integrity and being taken seriously. I have written about integrity and the importance of respect for both self and other plenty of times, but sometimes I get reminders of why consistency is integral. I feel that it's still always about balance and that while it's important to be consistent, it's also important to be able to consider that sometimes we may need to change our own personal beliefs and perspective. So let's discuss these topics and how they relate to consistency today.
I feel that if we are not consistent in what we do and say then it is very difficult to gain any kind of respect from others, but more tragically we lose respect for ourselves. I often say that truth isn't something that can be told or shown, it can only be realized, and it's when we get too fixated on the idea that we are in some way "correct" or "more correct" than others that we stop gaining perspective. When we stop gaining perspective it's easy to start preaching ideals at others that we don't live up to ourselves and we then get lost in blame and victim mindset.
Integrity is a very intangible concept that I would say describes a level of consistency and balance. If we want to have more integrity, we have to be both more consistent in our own beliefs and lifestyles while also being more willing to shift our own perspectives. For example, I couldn't discuss peace and love as the fundamentals of my philosophy everyday and then be going around attacking people as it would create quite a contradiction. At the same time it is my responsibility to defend and uphold my own perspective while trying to be respectful of others. We are all contradictory to some extent and being overly judgmental of that fact isn't all that beneficial either. It seems that we must find balance and wholeness in all that we do to fully accept ourselves and be able to share authentically with others in a respectful manner. Namaste.
Personally, I believe consistency and integrity are very important, and they tend to walk hand-in-hand. Being consistent is often an indicator of integrity... and people we perceive to have integrity typically are quite consistent and reliable.
Even on the simplest levels this matters... we go to restaurants because we can always rely on getting a good dinner there, not so much to those that are brilliant one day and possibly crap the next.
On a personal level... our consistency is one of the ways we can lead by example; and I find that consistency is a form of leading because people tend to gravitate towards it.
I can see that and it's an interesting way of looking at it. Thanks for sharing.
It's an interesting topic... I aspire to more consistency, but don't always manage to live up to my own expectations... and then my integrity is challenged because it becomes easy to point fingers at external factors when we get thrown off course... in what is often a very INconsistent world.
I prefer chaos and looking inside my socks
Consistency is not how I tease my rocks
I breed in crazy mental yeast
And regurgitate a verbal feast :P
I would imagine being consistently chaotic is it's own form of consistency. :)
Hi @clayboyn. This topics kinda hurts me.
I am one of those people who change ideas continuously, very vague, lack of focus.
I have been trying to not be harsh with myself about changing idea/opinion too much.
I don't think we have to be consistent no matter what.
It is all right to change.
There is no truth, there is no right and wrong.
Conditions and contingencies change.
We all change and the world is always changing, all we can do is our best to adapt to both. I'm mainly referring to consistency in sense of doing what you say and saying what you do. If you are going around telling people one thing and doing something else entirely, eventually they will think you are a fraud etc. It's about accepting ourselves and not feeling a need to hide from others. It isn't meant to hurt anyone, it's meant to help people realize that you don't have to be afraid to be authentic and accept yourself and it's also okay to admit when we're wrong.
@clayboyn, I do understand where you come from. People don't have that level of awareness.
We live in a world of appearance and advertising, I grow up and I'm yet not sure, whenever I am living in a theater and I'm being myself.
The struggle.
Good info!! We liked you’re post.
Sometimes I wonder if we share a brain- I have drafted a similar post, but I titled it "what people want from each other". I think I even used the word consistency for the concept. Anyway- I agree with you that walking the talk is important- if you say you're going to do something, do it. Give people a heads up when you can't. Don't be afraid to tell people the truth, no I can't do this or I have too much on my plate or I really don't want to do that. I try to live by my word, but im not always as successful as I'd like to be. I wonder what gets in the way of integrity- if poverty or other life events can possibly make someone less able to live up to their word temporarily or to never learn the habit. You talk about the consequences to both the individual and their relationship to other people, but I think we are also seeing this happen with society as a whole. In my work environment, I have learned to create contingency plans for when people don't follow through- and I'm not just talking the kids!