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Striving to live in integrity with your values, whenever and wherever possible, is NOT the same as perfectionism.

Yes, living up to an ideal at all times is impossible. But recognizing your ideals and core values is an essential first step.

And striving to live in accordance with them can be very uncomfortable. It can mean giving up privileges, rearranging your entire life, and questioning every aspect of the systems that surround you.

Integrity doesn't mean judging yourself for every imperfect decision made for the sake of convenience. After all, when you’re in survival mode, sometimes choosing the convenient option is a necessary form of self-care.

Integrity also doesn't mean holding everyone else to the same standards that you choose for yourself. It doesn't mean you're better than other people (and you must remind them of it daily!).

Being in deep integrity means you're doing the work. Daily. You recognize that it's ongoing, not done. You evolve your principles, and the ways you live them, as you continue to learn.

Integrity means acknowledging that there's no pinnacle of achievement and no gold medals for taking the high road. All you win is…

Deep wisdom that helps you connect with other radical changemakers, and work together.

You're IN the movement, doing the movement itself—internally and externally—rather than just following the vibes.

Perfection takes us toward navel-gazing. It slows us down unnecessarily.

Commitment to care means you move slowly enough to be thoughtful and thorough, but you don't let yourself get stuck in the mud of "I don't know" or "I can't take action until I get this one thing exactly right."

"Move fast and break things" is not how meaningful work gets done, either. Aligning your actions to your values means no, you can't jump on every passing impulse or trend. And you don't have to make decisions alone—but you do need to be firm about your boundaries if you’re pushed to do something that feels off.

Activism isn't done for accolades, and deep internal reflection isn't done so we can fuel a sense of superiority.

It's done because you see the vision of a better world, and you want to understand and embody your role in it.

That means some difficult sacrifices; willingness to be misunderstood and maligned; self-compassion; meeting people where they are; and humility balanced with conviction.

You learn through doing. You balance action and reflection. You keep moving forward. You integrate.

Being a visionary means sometimes you're ahead of the curve. Being open to learning means sometimes you're the one whose mind takes longer to wrap around a necessary but painful truth.

BOTH are a part of the journey.

If you've got a little voice telling you "if I really cared about x I'd do y," stop and listen. Feel the discomfort. Open the exploration.

That's where the magic of the movement is, within us all.

Much love,

Nat

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