Never Miss a Workability Post

Have you ever been on a bike when the tire pressure was low?  You can even notice this in your car.  You can still get around OK, but the turns don’t feel right, the ride is not quite as good, and everything feels a little less stable and secure.  It leaves you on edge, doesn’t it?  In the back of your mind you know you are gambling, that next trip could be the time the tire blows.

When we breach our integrity (act inconsistent with who we consider ourselves to be), we let out some of the air in our "tires."  Breaches of your integrity can be massive and they can be minor, but each breach causes your "tires" to leak more air.  

And tires with low pressure are even more susceptible to what?  Tears, punctures, your wheels going out of alignment, as well as more wear and tear on your brakes.

A good question to put to yourself is, "Where am I letting air out of my tires?"  In other words, where are you living inconsistent with your definition of yourself?  If you don’t use the language of "defining" yourself, try asking yourself where am I not acting like myself, or where am I not being true to myself?

Some signs that you might be out of integrity: you’re inexplicably exhausted too much of the time, you’re irritable, you avoid people, or not enjoying things that you used to enjoy.  

It’s important to really look when you ask yourself this question.  Don’t just look for the big items right in front of your face, but also look for the smaller, more nuanced daily, weekly, and monthly things you say or don’t say, do or don’t do, that just don’t feel right.  Keep an eye out for the ones that are inconsistent with your values and who you really, really are.  A little bit of air out of your tires once is not a big deal, but a little bit of air out of your tires 100 times a month adds up.

As a fun follow-up, there was a study done showing that underinflated tires were costing ten cents extra in fuel per mile and accounting for 306,000 extra tons of carbon emissions per year.  We could all be helping our planet by just keeping our tires inflated.  How could you be helping your family, business, friends, and co-workers by keeping your "tires" inflated?   What would be possible if they were fully inflated?  What would you be producing, creating, and partnering in, if you were completely aligned and integral to who you are and what matters most to you?

Next week let’s talk about how to reinflate your "tires" (this metaphor might be getting a littttle tired!).  Send us your questions and comments about how to get back into integrity and we will include our answers in the next newsletter.

To inflated tires!