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Do you feel like you’re often living in fear and that there’s never enough?

The key to breaking free from the scarcity mindset could be something you might not have considered before: integrity.

Unlock your inner superpower and learn how to harness the power of integrity in just four steps.

As I began to explore the concept of integrity, I was surprised to discover how much my own struggles and setbacks could be attributed to a lack of this essential quality. My inability to stand firm during critical moments resulted in negative consequences that affected not just myself, but also those around me.

The riches of inner peace and strength

Picture this: a traveler arrives in a village seeking rest for the night. As she sets up camp, a man approaches and begs for a stone that would make him one of the richest men in the world. Claiming to have seen it in a dream, he’s desperate to get his hands on it. The traveler reaches into her bag and produces the world’s biggest diamond, which she’d found the day before. “Is this the one?” she asks him. He eagerly nods, and she hands it over: “Here, it’s yours if you want it,” she says.

The man quickly runs off with it, but that night he can’t sleep. The next morning, he returns to the traveler, gives back the diamond, and asks: “Please give me the riches that makes it possible for you to give away the diamond.”

This is what integrity brings you: the riches of inner peace and strength that gives you the power to live a life of abundance.

Being whole

Integrity comes from the Latin word for “whole,” which is what it’s all about—being whole. When we’re whole, we don’t look to the outside world to complete us. Integrity gives us the power to act independently and honestly without inappropriate consideration for anyone or anything—including ourselves.

But most of us don’t feel whole. Instead, we’re caught up in an internal conflict with undesirable emotions that we try to avoid. These emotions are equally as intrinsic to us as pleasant emotions, but we attempt to quieten or manage them by seeking happiness through possessions, relationships, or experiences. Alternately, we avoid them through addictive habits such as spending an excessive amount of time on social media, overworking, indulging in alcohol, smoking, overeating, and so on. As the saying goes: “You can never get enough of what you don’t need to make you happy.”

This entanglement prevents us from truly showing up as we are and meeting the external challenges, we face—especially when we’re emotionally triggered. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Instead of going to war with the discomfort within us we have another option. We can choose the way of integrity.

The way of integrity

When our thoughts, words, actions, and intentions align, they create a stable foundation for our life because we are no longer at war with ourselves. This is what integrity looks like in practice.

Integrity is an inner process that anyone can open themselves up to. No special gifts or credentials are required; all it takes is the willingness to turn your attention inward.

Here are four simple steps that will end the battle with your inner discomfort and unleash the superpower of integrity:

1. Stop and pause: from unconscious to conscious.

Between stimulus and response there’s a pause, which gives you the freedom to choose how you respond. When you’re triggered or challenged: press pause. Give yourself time to switch from reaction (your unconscious autopilot) to conscious response.

2. Feel the discomfort: from inner conflict to inner peace.

Feel the discomfort in your body without telling yourself a story about who or what caused it. Is it a knot in the stomach or a pressure on the chest or something else? Relax and notice the space around the discomfort. This allows the discomfort to move and integrate.

3. Turn it around: from limiting beliefs to unlimited possibilities.

Turn around your negative beliefs and fearful projections about the situation that is emotional triggering you. What could be a positive belief about the situation or a positive outcome? Open your mind to new possibilities.

4. Choose your intention: from I to We.

Consider the bigger picture and the possible consequences of your actions. Ask: “What is the right thing to do (or refrain from doing) in this moment (not just for yourself but for everyone affected)?” We are interdependent beings and our freedom is always relational.

Repeat these four steps until the discomfort integrates on its own.

Incorporating these four steps as part of your daily routine will help you to stay true to yourself and stand strong in the face of adversity.

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