Self-Integrity The Key to Wellbeing

By Charissa Bloomberg

Do you keep your word to yourself?

So you honour your commitments when you tell others that you’re going to do something, but what about when you make a promise to yourself – how often do you break it?

When we say we’re going to do something for ourselves and we don’t, we’re teaching ourselves that our word is of no value. This can negatively impact our self-esteem, productivity, and work ethic.

Not having self-integrity is not going to get us where we want to be on our health and wellness journeys. As

Learning this made me realise just how ridiculous it is that I can’t even walk out my front door to the next building, where my gym and pool are located!

It was a pivotal point for me, and I (finally) started keeping my commitment to my daily self-care routine.

A sensory sensation

I was recently asked to give a talk on self-integrity and encountered a significant life lesson of my own. Integrity is my passion, and if I say I’m going to do something, I make sure I do it. I even take delight in doing so. What I didn’t realise until that point was how much I had to discover about my own self-integrity!

If I say I will call someone at 5 pm, I plan my day around it. But if I promise myself that I’ll go to gym on Monday, I find it easy to renege on the commitment. Whenever I vow to put myself first, I end up coming up with a myriad of excuses – I’m too tired, I’m too busy making a living…you know the drill.

My domestic worker recently shared with me that she follows an online workout programme at 8 pm every night – after she’s completed a full day of manual labour, walked to catch a taxi, and prepared dinner for her husband and children.

After some time, I began to feel fantastic – not only from the benefits of the exercise, but from keeping my word to myself. The knock-on effect of starting to trust my own word was so powerful that it extended into all areas of my health, relationships, productivity, and perhaps most importantly – self-esteem.

If you need your own sign that it’s time to step up to the plate and give yourself reason to trust yourself, this is it.

About The Author

Charissa Bloomberg is a celebrity psychologist who regularly appears on South African radio and television. She has 22 years of experience facilitating within organisations, and is an integrity leadership specialist. For more information or to get in touch, visit www.charissabloomberg.com.