6 Best Values for 2026: No. 6 - Integrity

Without this value, everything else falls apart.

In this first episode of the 6 Best Values for 2026 series, Justin kicks things off with a truth that might sting a little—you can’t have real success without integrity.

Not performative integrity. Not “say-the-right-thing” integrity.

We’re talking real, deep, honest-to-yourself-and-others integrity.

This episode breaks down:

• Why most people are out of integrity and don’t even realize it
• How integrity is less about others—and more about being honest with yourself
• What happens when your words, actions, and values don’t line up
• And how living in integrity creates alignment, flow, and magic

Whether you're leading a team, launching a project, or just trying to show up better in your relationships… this episode is your call to greatness.

🧠 Key Takeaways

• Integrity = Alignment.
• It’s not about being perfect—it’s about being honest and consistent with what you say, feel, and do.
• You can’t fake integrity.
• If you say you value something but your actions don’t back it up? That’s not a value—it’s wishful branding.
• Integrity starts with you.
• The most important person you need to keep your word to is yourself.
• “Inclusivity” ≠ integrity.
• Justin challenges buzzword values and explains why clarity of purpose often requires being exclusive.

✅ Subscribe now to hear all 6 of the best values for 2026 as they drop

🎧 Listen now and share with someone who’s ready for more themselves

✨ Want to experience full-body integrity?

Check out the LEAP Practice—the Life Energy Activation Process Justin teaches

Watch the full video episode at Justin Wenck, Ph.D. YouTube Channel!

Check out my best-selling book "Engineered to Love: Going Beyond Success to Fulfillment" also available on Audiobook on all streaming platforms! Go to https://www.engineeredtolove.com/ to learn more!

Got a question or comment about the show? E-mail me at podcast@justinwenck.com.

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Transcript

Justin Wenck: 0:00

Today, I'm talking about the six best values for 2026 and we're going to get going with number six. And this one is a doozy. Basically, if you don't have this as one of your top values, and you're not living towards it, it's basically going to prevent you from having success in anything you're going to attempt. So you're definitely going to want to pay attention and listen to this episode. Let's begin. Are you ready to live a life with enough time, money and energy have relationships and connections that delight you? Are you ready for the extraordinary life you know you've been missing. If so, then this is the place for you. I'm a best selling author, coach, consultant and speaker who's worked in technology for over two decades. I'm a leader at transforming people and organizations from operating in fear, obligation and guilt to running off joy, ease and love. It's time for engineering emotions and energy with me. Justin Wenck, PhD, so this is the first episode where we're going to be breaking down what are the best six values to have for 2026 so what is a value? A value is just something that you think is important, something to try to live by. It's like a standard of a way of living your life, of how do you make decisions, and what do you pursue, and what do you say no to? And so we're going to be going through the six best values that are going to help you have the success, and, more importantly, the fulfillment, the relationships, the joy, the experiences that truly matter to you. And so what is value number six that is so incredibly important that if you don't have this value on your radar, that it's basically going to undo anything that you attempt in your life. So the number six value is integrity. That's right. Integrity, that sense of basically, I'm honest. I My word is my bond. I do what I say, and if I can't, I make it right? Basically, am I trustworthy? And the most important thing is it doesn't even have to do with other people. It's Do you trust yourself? So when it comes to integrity, if you say I'm going to do something and you don't do it, and nobody ever finds out, you know, like, if you say I'm going to I'm going to exercise more, or I'm going to treat people better, and then you don't, that goes that you're out of integrity. And how I realized that this is so important and so many people are missing. This is recently, somebody reached out to me. They were doing a an organizational retreat, and they were like, they wanted me to one. They wanted me to kind of help them get in the right state by sharing my life, energy activation process, my energy, my energy practice with them. Leap. And then also, like, Okay, well, how, how how can I format this thing, you know, went through, okay, here's, you know, here's kind of the order you want to do things. Because the main thing with the retreat was to share a new vision and get get the whole team, the whole organization, aligned. So it's like, okay, well, here's, here's how you want to break it down. These are the things. And one of the things I said that's very important is you want to have some shared organizational values soon. When I was, you know, teaching my elite practice, I learned that, oh, integrity is not a value in this organization. And it was really easy for me to tell because one was, I was told, okay, we're going to start at this time. And then it got pushed back. And then I got told, Oh, well, somebody's running late. They'll be here in five minutes. Okay, five minutes later. Oh, they're actually not here. And it's like, okay, well, are they going to be here soon or not? And you know, well, let's call, let's call this person. And you know, there's, there's kind of like, oh yeah, just, you know, just gonna be here in five minutes. And at that point, the like, well, there's probably gonna be more, like, 10 minutes. Can we just, can we just get started? And I responded with something that I could tell that was, was shocking. He said, They said no, and they're like, well, can't they just join later on? And I was like, No, the this practice. It's like, once I once I start teaching it. It's a closed container. Once it starts, we go, do we go to completion? I can't have people joining and leaving. You know, it's like, it's like a ride, an amusement park, like, you know, you you strap in, the ride starts, you're in the ride, until the ride. Is over, you know, you can't, like, get out and jump off the roller coaster, and you can't parachute in and somehow get on the roller coaster while it's, well, it's in motion. And the reason I said no, as, like, because I have integrity with my practice and what I teach, and I know this is important. It's powerful. And this is not something to be just, you know, dip in, dip out, kind of like, I don't know, just like, you know, coming into a movie or whatever, that's something that's, you know, just for entertainment. This is something that's powerful, life changing. And so just from the fact that, you know, there was the, there was no integrity with when someone says they're going to show up and then showing up, I was like, Oh, this, this organization is not valid. It doesn't have integrity as one of their values. And even if they were to state it, they don't actually live by it. So basically, anything that this organization's likely going to attempt isn't going to work out, because there's going to be inherent lack of trust amongst the people, like, if you can't trust, when somebody says, Here's what, I'm going to be there. Now, again, one important thing about integrity is it doesn't mean you have to be perfect. Have to be perfect. And if you fail, you don't live up to what you say, that you're a bad person. Life happens. Things get in the way. That's totally okay. It's what you do about it, right? It's having the intention to be an integrity as much as possible. So it's like, if you're, you know, like you left late. Own it. You left late. And you look at the map thing, and it's like, says you're going to be there in 15 minutes. You go, says, I'm going to be says I'm going to be arriving in 15 minutes. And then, you know, somebody knows what the parking situation is. Okay, 15 minutes, five minutes, you know. So then people can know what's going on, and they can trust that you know what you say is going to reflect what they're going to experience with you. And this is, again, as much for other people as it is for yourself. If it's like, Okay, I'm going to do these habits, or I'm going to do these practices, or I'm I'm going to talk to myself in this way, do you follow through with yourself? Because, again, you're as an important part of your life as anybody else around you. So if you're in integrity, if you're honest with yourself, because this is the other important thing, is it's also okay to say no, and just like, I'm not, I'm not doing that. Like, okay, I'm not going to eat well today, or I'm I'm not going to respond to this. I'm not going to do these things because I don't want to. It's not important right now, and it's so freeing to just go, I'm not doing it. This is not important to me right now. You're going to feel so much better. And it's honest. It's like, you know, if you don't want to go to something, don't say, Oh yeah, I'm going to show up and then not show up. Just say, Hey, I won't be able to make it. Because, again, there's some things where it's like, you're going to be polite, right? And so it's finding the ways to be integrity within whatever the norms of it, your circle, your culture, your business, right? So integrity is so key, and I do kind of want to have, like, a little bit of an aside about something that I've noticed is a big clue that there's likely going to be a big lack of integrity in the group. Is, anytime there's there's a big push or a big mention of this is going to be inclusive. I'd like to call it the stupidity of inclusivity. The thing is, the human experience is inherently exclusive. It's having something that is going to be separate from what everybody else is likely able to have, and it's going to be having time limited people limited, where not everybody's doing the same thing, because we all have choice. The only truly inclusive environment is all of Earth, because it includes all of us. Otherwise, if some event, some location, is called inclusive, then it's automatically to me out of integrity, because it can't be for everybody. This is very different than and we'll get into this in a future episodes. I've talked about this on previous episodes that you know, anyone that you have in contact with, regardless of where they come from, what they like, what they're into, this, that the other thing you treat with kindness and respect and love, yet you say this is, this is what this event, this organization, this is what it's about. And that's not going to and you own this is that it's not going to be for everybody, and that's a good thing that this is not going to be for everybody. For example, sailing, I've done sailing in the past. It's so fun, yet it's not going to be for people that don't like to be around water. It's not inclusive. It's not inclusive of people that hate being. On the water or possibly getting wet. It's just not, not inclusive. And other parties, they're not, they're not going to be inclusive, because there's probably a reason why people are getting together, right? So like, and that's okay. It's what makes life exciting. It's what makes being human exciting. So owning and saying, What is this about? Why is this worth having, showing up for experiencing? Because if it's truly inclusive, it's either going to be so incredibly boring, or it's going to be just so off the wall weird, or it's just, it's just not going to be a good event. Good event is, here's what's going on. Do you want to come? Come, if not, not. And again, it's not about, okay, what somebody looks like this, that the other thing, right? It's about what is what is this for? What is the purpose? So whenever I see someone say, this is inclusive, I'm like, this is somebody that's likely going to be out of integrity, because they don't actually know what they're about. They don't know why they're doing what they're doing, and they just, they're just doing something because it sounds good, and people that are just doing stuff that sounds good will say anything so that it sounds good, looks good, whatever. And then when that changes or doesn't work out, they're going to change it. And again, integrity is so important to living the life that you truly want to have, because if you can't be honest with yourself and be honest with other people, how are you going to be able to actually enjoy and live the life that you actually want? Because there's always going to be misalignment. There's going to be a difference between what you're saying and what you're doing and what you're feeling. And alignment is incredibly powerful. So powerful when what you say, do and feel lines up. That's when you can get into flow. And magic just happens. And I want you to experience this magic. I want you to feel it. I want you to know it. I want it to be something that becomes just so easeful, and you can't do everything, and you can't please everyone, yet when your integrity in integrity, you're going to respect yourself. Others are going to respect you. And again, there's going to be ways to do this kindly, right? So it's not this like, Oh, I'm just gonna say, I'm just gonna say the truth. I don't care what anybody thinks. That's bullshit too. That's total complete bullshit. That's what narcissists do. That's what people that are choosing to live life like an asshole are doing. And again, like, that's that's also out of out of integrity, that's just posturing, that's just pretending. Because again, if you know you actually are human, and you're feeling and you're aware and you're noticing, you do care about other people, and it's about honoring them and honoring yourself and being honest, so that can come together where it's where you're meant to come together you can experience what you mutually desire, so you can collaborate and share and create when you want to, and then when it's time to let that go. Because it's like you want to do something else, they want to do something else, I want to do something else. You all can in integrity, move along, right? Because values. The big thing about values is it guides your ability to make decisions, have choices, and decide things from a much more loving, caring, respectful place. And so I'm very curious, where does integrity rank for you and your values, and even more importantly, do you actually live up to the value of integrity. Because it's one thing to say you value integrity yet, and this is where it's even more hilarious, is, do you actually make the decisions, live the life, choose the choices that keep you within integrity? Because if not, then it's just bullshit. You don't actually value integrity. You can say, I value integrity, but then with it gets hard. If you're late, you lie, or if you like, Oh yeah, I'm not going to do this anymore. And you do it anyway. You're out of integrity. You don't actually value it. It's only a value if your behaviors match up with your value. And so this is why integrity is so so important, because without it, you you can't even live up to you any other values you may have. And we're going to begin that into future episodes, because we're doing six of the best values for this year of 2026 and you're definitely going to want to make sure you're subscribing so you don't miss it. Might not do these all in a row, but we'll definitely get through all six before 2026. Is over. My goal is to get through them sooner yet, if other topics come up, if other things come up, you know, but we will. I've got them written down. I've got them planned out so I've got all six. Ready for you. So I'd love to hear, what are your thoughts on integrity? Where does it rank for you? And then how well do you do actually living in integrity? And what is it like when you notice that somebody is an organization, group, whatever is not in integrity? And I truly believe that the more each of us start to be in our own personal integrity more and more, then we'll start to see the external world be more and more integrity. So this really is one of those things where it can begin with you Be the change you want to see in the world. If you want more integrity out in your world, start to live with more integrity. So with that, thank you so much and good day. Thanks for tuning in to engineering emotions and energy with Justin Wenck PhD, today's episode resonated with you. Please subscribe and leave a five star review. Your feedback not only supports the show, but also helps others find us and start their journey of emotional and energetic mastery. You can also help by sharing this podcast with someone you think will love it just as much. Just as much as you do together, we're engineering more amazing lives you.