The following essay is the collaboration of Grow members on the Grow Mental Health core value of INTEGRITY…. 

Integrity is the quality of having strong ethical principles that are followed at all times. Honesty and trust are central to integrity, as is consistency.

When we interact with those people who we believe do have strong ethical principles we feel much more confident and secure. Our communication with people of integrity is more relaxed and consistent because we believe our interactions with this person will be honest and healthy. This trust allows friendly, productive relationships to grow which are far more focused on better outcomes for all concerned.

If on the other hand, we are dealing with people we feel may lack integrity it`s not at all surprising that we are far more guarded in our interactions with them. If we do not feel confident in trusting people to be honest in their interactions with us, then unfortunately our positivity and outcomes are adversely affected.

When you first join a Grow group although you may not know anyone there and you might be fearful, the warm welcome you receive and the small acts of friendship you experience, help you feel comfortable and more confident. Members sharing their personal stories with you also makes you feel secure and trusted. The integrity of the Grow group builds your trust and `where you get valid grounds for confidence`. Seasoned Growers aspire to become part of the social good and this emanates from personal integrity.   

We all have role models that we look up to, those famous ethical people with strong moral codes who do the right thing, regardless of circumstances. Then there are those inspiring ordinary individuals, we can aspire to be more like, who consistently and humbly conduct themselves with integrity, even when no one is watching. They are our “I can be ordinary” role models. This is genuine integrity. I wonder if these people assume that everyone who they come across is conducting themselves in the very same way. But are they?

Can we as individuals say we always act with integrity? In the truest fullest sense…. I certainly have not … There are times when I have judged others unfairly or maybe, I have heard something second hand and believed it to be true, without having been present myself. I know behaving in such a manner does lack integrity and surely if I am following the Grow Program, I ought to have learned that in Grow we should Talk to rather than about your problem person.That “Clear understandings make for long friendships.”

Imagine what benefits we would all receive if we all made a concerted effort to carry ourselves with integrity in every human interaction we enter into?

• We could trust what is happening before our eyes.
• We could trust our personal interactions and not second guess them.

In other words, if we could participate in life with confidence and progress projects – That would be amazing, and so much more could be achieved.

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”