Wednesday, 14 May 2014 18:05

The Integrity of Your Choices Featured

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One thing I am sure about me is the fact that my word is my integrity. I don’t make promises to people because I want to belong, also I don’t act in a way that is not familiar with me so I can be accepted. I have come to understand in this life that the exact same qualities I have that

make many to love me also make many others to dislike and even hate me. So why should I be a photocopy and not the original me? Why should I reshape my identity for someone who has no respect and regards for me?

I have decided not to be rash in making decision. I give my totality to many but they pay me back with ingratitude and disrespect. The truth is it takes nothing away from me. It does not stop me from being me. It does not affect how I treat the next person. I refused to be forced to transfer the disappointment from one person to another. If a friendship, a relationship, an acquaintance does not work; I learn the lessons and move on.

You do not wake up one morning a bad person. It happens by a thousand tiny surrenders of self-respect to self-interest. Many of us have to make decisions that define who we are and what we believe in. I have been in a mega church where you have to scheme and lie to get what you want. For me I never allowed the culture and tradition of this place to corrupt me. I refuse to surrender my self-respect to their useless self-interest and you know what, they branded me.

Most often, the choices we face may seem insignificant. But this doesn’t mean that they’re not important to us: even the smallest action can have an impact on our self-respect, our integrity, and ultimately, our reputation. A good name is better than any title or position on earth. I see so many people sell themselves cheap just because they want titles. You don’t buy leadership, you work to earn it. Having a title or position does not guarantee that you are a leader. You can rule and be the boss but that does not qualify you to be a leader.

This is a church with so many anointed people and yet they have their own routine and nasty way of judging and upholding things. To me the level of hierarchy they operate is like being in a cult. Seriously if you are in there it looks very holy, you would want to be a part of it but it takes someone walking close to God to see that it is all man made. They created their own headlines and everyone wants to be part of it so people sell themselves short.

In a world where headlines are often dominated by people who make the wrong choices, people who make the right ones can seem to be rare. However, it feels good to live and work with integrity, and when we become known for this highly valued trait, our lives and our careers can flourish. All my friends know that I am forward thinking and I don’t indulge in anything that won’t glorify God. This does not mean I do not face grievous temptations. I do and because I built my life with integrity, when such situation arises I always at the end come on top of it.

Integrity is the adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. It is the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished. It is a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition. You could say that integrity is always doing the right thing, even when no one is looking, and even when the choice isn’t easy. Or, you might see integrity as staying true to yourself and your word, even when you’re faced with serious consequences for the choices that you’re making.

I work in a very volatile, combustible customer service sector where there can be happiness and in a moment there will be a volcanic eruption that can lose someone their job. I survive this role with my integrity, honesty and my desire to treat everyone the way I love to be treated. When we live our lives with integrity, it means that we’re always honest, and we let our actions speak for who we are and what we believe in. Integrity is a choice we make, and it’s a choice we must keep making, every moment of our lives.

There some customers we start by fighting because I maintain my grounds, with time they come to like me because they know I am the real deal. I stood my grounds for what is right in an honest friendly way. At the end they see this and they trust me with their business because they know I protect their business no matter who is involved. I am not afraid to be sacked for doing the right thing.

Making decision is not really easy as you know. Decision making is hardest when no one of the choices present to us have a clear advantage over the others. We tend to crack our brains and even allow our emotions to play. This is like standing on top of the pyramid, with different paths leading to the bottom. Each path seems just like the other. Yet once we decide on a path, we slide all the way to the bottom and may end up very far from the other choices which we did not take. We convince ourselves that the choice we had made even though previously had no clear advantage over the rest is the best choice that we could have made. As for all the other choices, we begin to feel that they are wrong even when previously we were ambivalent against them.

The best way to preserve our choices is to make our choices with integrity. This works when a person is able to stand on the top of the pyramid looking down at all the choices with an impartial eye, even if he has made a choice, then he has gained enlightenment. So you learn something valuable even if it is a wrong choice. The experience is not a waste. It is a tool for another challenge and it will be handy the next time you are on another pyramid ready to make another choice.
“The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour.”– Japanese Proverb

Your integrity is what determines your reputation, and, just as this proverb states, all it can take is a single bad choice to destroy a lifetime’s worth of integrity. When making choice you need to understand that your integrity plans the biggest role in the choices you make. Integrity is one of those abstract qualities that we all wish to possess, but often find difficult to apply when it comes to real situations and practical dilemmas.

Integrity is also related to the roots of words like “integrate” and “entire.” In Spanish it is rendered “integro,” meaning whole. Integrity thus implies the state of being complete, undivided, intact, and unbroken. Such a state contrasts with one that is scattered, fragmented, and incomplete.  Integrity is really the bond that holds a man’s other virtues together; it is the mark of a man who has successfully integrated all good principles. His life is a unified whole. Integrity will hold your choices together if you made them by it.

Your integrity is your gift to yourself and to the world. Being a person of integrity means you are solid, principled, true to your very best self. It means you walk your talk by living up to your highest ethical values. It means you always try to do what’s right even in tough situations, and you don’t let temptation compromise your values. You have to make the choice to live your life with personal integrity. Never dare to follow the crowd. Your choices should be based on honesty and with that if there is regret it won’t be that but rather a valuable lesson gain through experience.

Integrity is aligning your choices with your intentions. The difference between intention and realization is not about pretending to be “fearless,” nor about not having any life challenges, nor about having an abundance of anything.  Integrity is when your words and actions match, and they are in alignment with your values, beliefs, commitments, and life vision. You need to embrace reality when making choices in any area of your life. Once you see your reality and accept it, you are in the strongest position to make the choice to create the best shifts of your life. Choice can be powerful as it can empower or limit you. Sometimes your belief may hinder your ability to make a choice. You may believe that you don’t really have a choice, that it’s impossible to make a choice because of certain circumstances in your life.

Choice is the right and power to select one option or thing before the other. You always have a choice to make, it is your right. What choices you make influence your life in varying degrees and that’s power. Choice is a general term that is used to refer to the act of selection. It can also be defined as the right, power, or opportunity to choose or rather something that is preferred to others. Finally you have read this article but it is your choice to act on it or to neglect it. The choice is always yours to make. There is always a choice to make but sometimes it can be really difficult to choose the options before us. This does not mean that we don't have a choice. Choosing to do nothing is a choice too.

It is your reality. Since it’s yours it means you have the power to make a new choice. You can make the choice to break your chains of limiting beliefs and dream big or you can make the choice to keep believing you don’t have a choice. It is your choice. You have the power right at this very minute to make choices that will move you towards achieving your greatest potential in this life. The Choice is still yours.

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