Integrity is how we behave when no one is looking. Will we cut corners or continue to live by our values? There are consequences to our self image when we compromise on our beliefs.

They say that it can take as little as two weeks to make or break a habit. It takes less time than that to destroy a lifetime of integrity. When you live by a belief system, your actions are guided by it on a daily basis. You won’t just go out and hit someone with your car if you value human life. Along the same vein, you wouldn’t wake up and quit your job because you didn’t feel like going to work.

These examples might seem farfetched. Who would do a thing like that? You’d be surprised. When our integrity and standards are under fire, we won’t just get up one morning and decide to chuck it all in. There are a series of steps leading up to leaving our principles behind. It’s necessary to keep ourselves in check to keep that from happening.

In the movies, when the bad guy is finally caught, he looks like an ordinary person. He tells the police that he’s not a bad person. He never set out to embezzle a million dollars from his company.

Manning our principles is a twenty-four hour job. We are not coming under fire in all that time, but when we least expect it, something will happen and it could be a pivotal point on our lives. It’s like seeing the man in front of you drop his wallet as he attempts to put it in his pocket. Do you pick it up and give it back or keep it, thinking he should have been more careful?

The defining moments are the little ones. Each little decision changes us somehow. At work, our boss may ask us to let something slide for the “greater good.” We may wrestle with the decision but decide that we’ll go along to keep our job.

With each compromising decision, a little more of our integrity is chipped away. It becomes easier to give in each time. What we don’t realize is that we no longer look at ourselves in the mirror. We seldom go against the status quo for fear we’ll be labeled as a hypocrite. Our principles are less concrete now and almost completely fluid.

If you’ve felt this way that means you still mourn the changes that have brought you to this point. Regaining your integrity won’t be easy especially around those for whom you compromised. But, with the help of understanding and trustworthy people, your self-image can be restored and you can begin to rebuild your life.

Submitted by:

Linda Allen
GirlfriendsCafe.com
http://www.girlfriendscafe.com