The Way of Integrity
This fast read is about personal alignment: how to make what’s important to you on the inside match up to how you live on the outside. At times it felt like this book was written just for me, at others I thought: she is a total kook.
Beck is a brilliant oddball, a funny and to-the-point writer, with not too much therapy-speak. She includes simple (but challenging) exercises you can do to apply the book’s lessons to your own life.
In addition to sharing details of her own situation, I liked Beck’s real-world examples of clients she’s coached. A couple of my highlights:
I’ve sat through countless first sessions with clients who are so baffled by their own dissatisfaction they can barely find words to describe it. They stammer, “I wish I knew my purpose,” or “People say ‘Follow your passion,’ but I have no idea what mine is,” or “I thought working hard and providing for my family was the right thing, but I feel so empty.” A few of these people are clinically depressed or physically sick. But mostly, they’re just lost. […]
I feel enormous gratitude for all our confusion, and despair. Those feelings meant that our internal guidance systems were working perfectly, signaling “WRONG WAY!” as clearly as they could. […]
Your true self is intensely interested in your real life’s work—but it could give a rat’s ass about anything else. When you pursue a career that pulls you away from your true self, your talent and enthusiasm will quit on you like a bored intern.
Overall, a worthwhile read that rewired the way I think about personal integrity and alignment.
