The Practicon Viewpoint by Ann Page Griffin

INTEGRITY

ONE OF AN INDIVIDUAL'S PRIZE ATTRIBUTES

Recently, I read a thought-provoking piece in a book of short devotionals:

A friend of mine—okay, it was my counselor—drew a stick figure on a sheet of paper. She labeled this the "private" self. Then she drew an outline around the figure, about a half-inch larger, and named it the "public" self. The difference between the two figures, between the private and public selves, represents the degree to which we have integrity. I paused at her lesson and wondered, Am I the same person in public that I am in private? Do I have integrity?

I found myself wondering the same thing, and I realized that, as the years have passed, I have become ever more determined to integrate my private and public selves. As many mature people, I refuse to act one way in private and another in public; I refuse to cozy up to people or principles in public that I find distasteful in private; I refuse to compromise my private standards to win approval in public places; I refuse to go along to get along; on and on. I'm not tooting my own horn—I'm just stating how my sense of integrity has strengthened as I've matured. I'm certain that most of you could attest to this same concept in your life.

This reminded me of a dental team I consulted with years ago. In a private interview with each team member following my initial session with the dentist, I was told that the main concern individual team members had about the practice was the different ways the doctor related to and communicated with patients. They described him as warm, caring, charming, detailed, patient, and demonstrative with well-to-do patients (one team member even labeled them the "Mrs. Got-Rocks patients"). But he was frequently short, curt, uncommunicative, and impatient with the less affluent patients.

I've never forgotten the conversation I had with the dentist after hearing these comments from every team member. It began in a rather awkward way, but ended with the doctor thanking his team and me for invaluable input. He had never been aware of the differences in his mannerisms and relationships with well-to-do vs. less affluent patients.

This is one simple example of the way we can manifest our integrity, whether or not we are aware of it:

Am I consistent in how I present myself to others?

Is my integrity strong, integrating my public and private personas?

Do I need to make any changes?

It's something all of us might wish to think about.

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