MY AUDIT “Integrity report” inspired by James Clear

I’ve been following James Clear for few years now. His annual integrity report already inspired me last year and this year will not be different.

I call it “MY AUDIT”: it’s kind of an independent assessment of the quality of my own integrity. Let’s first understand what is my understanding when I speak about integrity, because I’m not going so much for some general consideration of morality or ethics: I’ve lived in too many different cultures to rely on what is considered ethics or moral in one society, one culture.

There is a code of Yoga ethics, called Yamas and Niyamas, and it’s very clear that my intention is to live by them. No harming, no lying, no stealing, not hoarding, not dispersing the energy, cultivate cleanliness, contentment, discipline, self-awareness and surrender to something higher than ourselves… well, there is nothing to really object to this, right?

Those principles look very simple, yet we all are harming in our thoughts, sometimes with our words, we steal other people’s time and attention, we waste our creative energy, we hoard like crazy. The contentment eludes us; while our clothes are clean, our Mind is cloudy, discipline is a struggle because the immediate reward and pleasure is easier than the delay of it, we are often self-ignorant and we consider surrender as a weakness, not mentioning that “what the hell something higher is?” remark is the one I often hear.

For me, the integrity I live by is the following definition: “To say what I think and do what I said.” Obviously, I have to take the responsibility for my thoughts and the mental state of clarity vs. confusion in which I am. It’s not, in any case, the permission to say everything I think, or believe that my thoughts are right. The integrity consists in the examination of my own dissonances and clearing the cloud layer by layer.

James Clear ask himself 3 questions, so I will ask them to myself as well.

1. What are the core values that drive my life? 2. How am I living and working with integrity right now? 3. How can I set a higher standard and lead with more integrity in the future?

Let's begin our journey:

1. What are the core values that drive my life?

2. How am I living and working with integrity right now?

I’ve spent most of the 2016 reflecting deeply and my core values are pinned on my board in my office to see them every day in front of my eyes. It’s easy to lose them from sight otherwise.

In my work, I ask often my clients about their core values. There are very few who have at least one or two they can talk about. Here are mine:

-Authenticity:

It’s a term used a lot today when talking about leadership. The authentic leader is the one who is self-aware, genuine, who is mission-driven, able to show some vulnerability and emotions, who combines directness with the empathy and focus more on long term, working hard and with patience towards results.

So I often ask myself the question: Am I acting from the place of my own values or am I compromising in order to please? Am I naming correctly my sources, giving credit to my teachers and mentors? Am I holding back by fear of judgment from others or because I believe it is not the right time and space to express myself? Are my public self and private self aligned?

This year, I clearly remember to compromise and going to a dinner that ended badly. My behaviour was not appropriate. I could say that I “was true to myself”, but it would be a BIG lie to myself just to make me feel better. I was supposed to decline this invitation in the first place, and when I did not, I was supposed to assume. I did neither. The lesson behind? You know better than that, Misa. So stay humble and make the decision you know you are supposed to, even if it seems unpleasant at the first sight.

-Courage:

There is no authenticity, there is no discipline, there is no integrity and there is no self-awareness without courage. The path of self-transformation and self-exploration is a path with a lot of pain and suffering, and without the courage to face the dark side of our personality, walking the path is just not possible.

I had a very interesting conversation with an unofficial mentor and friend of mine that I hold in a very, very high regard. He led a life of big responsibilities and a stunning career. I asked him his experiences and opinion on stress management. One of the things he told me was: “You have to know yourself.” The more we know ourselves, the more we can overcome the mind games and ego games and the more we can live a conscious life. So courage is the prerequisite.

My year 2016 was the year of courage in my inner and outer work. Where I failed was at setting clear rules and fair prices for my yoga classes and it fired back just at the end of the year. While I first consider my yoga teaching as a service, more than as a business, the lack of clear structure, rules and boundaries is not the environment for the commitment and discipline that I’m expecting from those who decide to come. While I observed and realised it some time before, I did not have the courage to do the necessary steps before the situation made me do so. January 2017 will start on a more solid ground.

I equally freaked out when faced with the possibility of collaborating with a very gifted and passionate young man on a new project. I had to examine my own resistance and I realised I was holding strongly on “my plan” and my vision that were challenged. My ego was screaming loud. The generation gap made me doubt and hey, why should I listen to somebody who could be my son? Because it’s the right thing to do, and because we should all listen more carefully to the young generation. And because I’ve been a big fan of youth for years, so this is actually a very good test of my own integrity!

-Integrity:

Here we go! I stated my vision of the integrity above, so here I will just write where I was not always living it:

I missed sometimes my own yoga practice, and the end of the year was even catastrophic. Asanas are the easiest part. Sit quiet, breath consciously and concentrate in inner silence is not easy. I was seeking the excuses and I was not doing what I was supposed to do.

I missed the appointments with several friends and I didn’t answer some messages. I had a clear feeling of neglecting some of those I love. I know the day has 24 hours for all of us and it’s a question of managing our focus. Mine was clearly more on my work than on the people I love, and this is not part of my life priorities.

I did neglect my health and again, I have pending some medical appointments I’ve been struggling with for years. I’m a complete fake if I ask my clients to take care about their health but I don’t do it myself.

I did not keep total integrity with my company in Prague because I didn’t always do what I said I would. I’m spending the end of the year to put things right in this area.

While I am describing the failures here, I have as well to say that the more we keep the “integrity concept” in mind, the more integrity we actually manifest in our everyday lives. It keeps me going on the long term and often prevents me from taking the easiest path of laziness and procrastination. I believe this year (2016) has been the one I’ve lived with the most integrity ever.

-Contribution/Service:

One of the most important questions I ask myself nearly every morning is “How can I serve?”. I know that sometimes people take me for crazy, sometimes I listen all those remarks about my “public social media life”, but I also know from many of you that it helps. It inspires others to find their path, find their voice, find their spark, use their gifts, cultivate awareness and deeper relationships, and live a better quality life.

Of course, my work is not for free and, like everybody, I have bills to pay. But there are still many things that everybody who wants can find for free on Internet, including free speed coaching sessions or online courses.

There is a beautiful international community that we created together with a few other crazy people in Maisons-Laffitte.

There are several charity workshops we started in Prague and we will continue with them next year.

And there is support coming from my family to another underprivileged Indian family for the education of the girls and healthcare for their mother.

There are still many areas where we are not doing enough as a family, and one of them is our environment. May the year 2017 be the year where our concern for Mother Earth increases, not only by our awareness, but as well with concrete action.

-Love:

Unconditional Love is the silver lining of my life. It does not prevent me from setting healthy boundaries or from choosing not to have some people in my life anymore, but I believe we all deserve love because it’s our true nature. Yet, the fact that I didn’t do all the necessary steps for my physical health during 2016 is a clear indication that my Love for myself is not as unconditional as it could be. Work in progress.

3. How can I set a higher standard and lead with more integrity in the future?

While the yoga class should be a space of freedom and safety, it has to be as well respectful of the time and resources of participants and the teacher. So it’s time for me to teach less, but with a higher quality of principles and settings.

Consistency is the key. I am very grateful to Ester who keeps an eye on my consistency with the blogging and delivering the materials on time and in due form. Yet, I work in 4 languages and sometimes it’s a mess. This coming year there is no other way than to be consistent in French, English and Czech. Spanish will wait for 2018!

As I am reducing the 1-to-1 teaching and coaching work, I am looking to develop more online courses and small workshops for highly motivated people. The online coaching platform is taking shape and it will give me the possibility to enhance the lives of more people in the same amount of time.

I will offer more e-books online with my coaching materials, so everybody will have the possibility to use the tools they need at specific moments of their lives.

I will create a series of specific yoga classes for specific needs, so my students could use them to practice their asanas / sadhana on their own.

2017 is the year of team building work and inner and outer adventure. Combining coaching, travelling, yoga and self-defence, with the intent of getting out of the comfort zone with the mind and the body, will bring more health, productivity and empowerment to women and men in working space AND in private space. I’m very excited by this new project and I believe in its impact on an international level.

Conclusion:

The year 2016 was a year full of new beginnings, of planting the seeds and finding the way. 2017 is the year of patience, consistency and teamwork. It will be the year of “Out Of The Comfort Zone” for me as well, and I am looking forward to it, as it’s exactly where miracles happen if we have the courage to step in there.

What about your 2016? What are your personal and professional plans/goals for 2017? Try to create your own “Integrity report” and share your comments with me.

Thank you for being there and best wishes for 2017!

I wish you a year full of Happiness, Success, Love, Peace and Prosperity.