LIFE'S INTEGRITY

”Integrity is not a conditional word.
It doesn't blow in the wind or change with the weather.
It is your inner image of yourself,
and if you look in there and see a man who won't cheat,
then you know he never will.”

This quotation, written by John D. MacDonald the prolific American author, very clearly defines the true meaning of Integrity.

To me, integrity goes hand-in-hand with character and honesty, and comprises the personal inner sense of "wholeness" derived from consistent moral soundness in thought and action. Integrity to be genuine and consistent, must possess a continuous or unbroken completeness or totality with nothing wanting or missing. It is an all or none possession and cannot be used as a tool of convenience. That would be manipulation.

In everyday life, integrity can be seen in every aspect of living. It is that inner drive that compels you to do the right thing at all cost. It forces you do the petty or unpopular things, even when no one was looking and no one cared, because it is just the right thing to do. It is also the feeling of satisfaction you experience after completing the right task, even though this may have been to your disadvantage. It is also knowing that although doing the right thing may be tough and demanding, in the end, only good feelings, not guilt or regret, results from it. It is having to stand against your friends and associates if their actions compromise what you know is right and appropriate. It often makes you very unpopular and sometimes leads to isolation and criticism, but everyone recognizes this is the price you must be prepared to pay to secure you integrity.

But integrity, to be used effectively, must be tempered with good sense and fairness. At all times, it must be free of the blind and indiscriminate rage of the Fanatic, whose actions are not based on reason or good sense, but rather on irrational enthusiasm or uncritical zeal.
Where the fanatic’s actions are invariably selfish and contrary to the well being of society, the exact opposite is seen in an environment where integrity is dominant. If more people in this world were to practice genuine integrity, the world would be a better and safer place. Unfortunately today’s society as a whole, has sacrificed its principles of integrity on the altar of convenience and individual domination. As a result we are faced with a world consumed with hate and rage and anger and distrust, where the only solution seems to be in mutual suspicion and destruction. Where even among the leaders of the nations, integrity is as rare as a snow storm in July and where lying and cheating and deceit is the norm. Are you then surprised that we are consumed with conflict and wars among and within most of the world's nations?

And yet there is no shortage of people of integrity in the world. Each one of us can readily identify people whose behavior has engendered profound respect and admiration. They come from all sections of the society irrespective of age, sex, race or levels of education.
But integrity must first begin with each one of us and with our relationship with the people around us, our family, our friends, our neighbors and others close to us. We must commit to live in truth to oneself, in the way we think, we act and live and to everyone in our life. It means establishing standards and refusing to compromise even if it affects us negatively. It means that you avoid any situation where the behavior of others creates conflict, or agree to act in any way that is not true and correct. It means not tolerating any behavior that is not consistent with the highest levels and being willing to move away rather than continue.

A life without integrity where your life is in turmoil, your actions are inconsistent, your behavior is unpredictable, where you are behaving and saying one thing on the outside while feeling and believing something quite different on the inside is surely a formula for emotional distress. And yet we chose to continue to live under this cloud of negativity so that we could easily conform with the majority. This indeed is the real curse of our civilization.

In the final analysis, Alan K. Simpson, the American politician from Wyoming was very correct when he wrote:

“If you have Integrity, nothing else matters.
If you don't have Integrity, nothing else matters”.


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The time is always right, to do what is right.
…Martin Luther King, Jr.

To know what is right and not do it,
Is the worst cowardice,
….Confucius

Laws control the lesser man.
Integrity controls the greater one.
........Chinese Proverb


A life lived with Integrity - even if it lacks the trappings
of fame and fortune, is a shinning star in whose light
others may follow in the years to come.
……Denis Waitley

Integrity is the essence of everything successful.
…….R. Buckminster Fuller

If everyone were clothed with Integrity;
If every heart were just, frank, kindly;
then the other virtues would be well-nigh useless.
……..Jean Baptiste Molière

One of the truest tests of Integrity
is its blunt refusal to be compromised.
…….Chinua Achebe

Honor your commitments with integrity.
…….Les Brown

Nothing so completely baffles one who is full of trick and duplicity himself,
than straightforward and simple Integrity in another.
…….Charles Caleb Colton

A single lie destroys a whole reputation of integrity.
……..Baltasar Gracian


“Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life,
and that happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence,
is the proof of your moral integrity,
since it is the proof and the result of your loyalty to the achievement of your values.”

…….Ayn Rand