Integrity in Personal Life

In mathematics, an integer is a number that is not divided into fractions.  Similarly, a man of integrity is not divided against himself.  He does not think one thing and say another—so he is not in conflict with his own principles.  It is the absence of inner warfare, I am convinced, that gives a man the extra energy and clarity of thought that make achievement inevitable.  Integrity means living up to the best in yourself.  Trying to do things you love at a pace comfortable to you.  Not for the sake of money.  Not for scaling new heights every day, just to show to the world that you are a big gun.  Just trying to release your energies toward things that fascinate you, that provoke you to give your best, that give you immense pleasure, that help you keep connected with your inner self and that help you gain satisfaction and pleasure of having done something good for others.

Integrity means having the courage of your convictions.  This includes the capacity to cling to what you think is right--; to go it alone when necessary and to speak out against what you know is wrong.  Integrity gives a person the strength to take chances, welcome challenges, and reject the unsatisfactory, unacceptable ways of life.  A person of integrity has confidence and can believe in himself—because he has no reason to distrust himself.  People of integrity I have noticed are shock—resistant.  They seem to have a kind of built-in equanimity that enables them to accept setbacks and fight injustices with all their strength.  The surprising thing about integrity is that one can acquire it by being honest, truthful, and sincere to oneself and to others at all times.  The first step in schooling yourself is to practice total honesty in little things; not telling that small lie when it is inconvenient to tell the truth, not repeating a juicy bit of gossip that is quite possibly untrue, not charging that personal phone call to the office.  Such disciplines may sound small, but when you really seek integrity and begin to find it, it develops its own power that sweeps you along.  Finally, you begin to see that almost anything worth having has an integrity of its own that must not be violated.