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I was quite surprised when I began researching the term "integrity" of all the variables that come into play when defining it. I thought having integrity went hand-in-hand with being honest - and it does, but with a twist. The twist is what you believe being honest is, not necessarily what someone else believes. You call the shots about what is right and wrong. That hardly seems fair, does it? Shouldn't it be something that is black and white that everyone readily agrees on? For example, being supportive of family and friends, being a hard worker, and paying our bills on time - to us these all mean having integrity. However, doing drugs, lying, cheating and stealing are acts that lack integrity. Right? These are things most people tend to agree on. The term integrity suggests trustworthiness whereas we are known to keep our promises, always doing what we said we would do. It also suggests incorruptibility, in that we are not capable of telling a lie or not sticking to a pledge we made. We will always do the right thing, even if it isn't the most popular. These are the descriptions we are most familiar with. But as we examine it closer, from here the water gets a little muddy - or the web gets a bit tangled. Another definition I found says that integrity is adherence to moral principles, to our own personal code of conduct. What is right and wrong by our standards. Integrity is what we want it to be, what we believe it to be. So, is having a glass of wine with dinner acceptable or not? We may disagree on this point, but we will do what we feel is right. In the end we both will have felt we acted with integrity because we followed our own beliefs. See? It’s not black and white and I believe that is an important lesson when forming opinions. Just because we don’t agree, doesn’t mean either one of us is “wrong”. Regardless of what is considered right or wrong by other people, there are benefits to living our life with integrity - always following our own conscience. - By sticking to what we believe is right, we won't have any regrets. - We won’t be bothered by rejection and criticism because we know our decisions were sound. - If we always stick to the facts, we won’t have to worry about keeping stories straight. - When we have nothing to hide, we fight harder to stand up for our character. - It's easier to accept responsibility and move beyond it when mistakes are made. - People will respect us. When we live our life with integrity it will obviously be uncomplicated and less stressful - we aren’t tangling any webs. It really is as simple as sticking to our beliefs and always doing the right thing. Whenever we act with integrity, we win. Whenever we choose not to, we lose. Do you want to be a winner or a loser? DO WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE? You may as long as you let me know and include this blurb with it: 9/23/09 (C) Kimberly J. McCloskey, Professional Virtual Assistant, in her attempt to help all people improve their personal and professional productivity, shares her insight through her newsletter "Productive Pointers". Request your subscription at kimberly.j.mccloskey @ gmail.com or http://kimberlymccloskey.wordpress.com Kimberly Mc Closkey, Virtual Assistant 2009.
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