INTEGRITY

“INTEGRITY is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions.” - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrity

When you choose to live with integrity, you will feel an inner cleanliness, a wholeness of heart and soul; all of your relationships will be healthier, stronger, and more satisfying. When you are a person of integrity you are someone others can depend on. They know that you can be trusted to do what you say you will do without hesitation or excuses. Living with integrity is easier than living a life full of deceit and dishonesty. Your conscience can rest easy and you will feel at peace with yourself.

There are always temptations or rationalizations to compromise your integrity.  But, compromising your integrity means exchanging your self-respect, your core moral value for something or someone.

Like everyone else, you have your weaknesses. It is easy to rationalize or justify compromising your integrity for something that at the time seems really worth it, whether it is money/riches, a job or even a person. It is easy to lie to yourself that the object of your desire is worth the sacrifice, worth exchanging your self-respect, your core moral values for that thing or person, even when deep down, in that space where your core values exist, you know that it is wrong.

Such sacrifice is self-destructive. Even when you accomplish your desired object, it is a high price you have paid. You may enjoy the prize for a while. But you can never run away from yourself. This is especially true in relationships.  No one is worth your self-respect, and your vision of that perfect person will soon cloud as you begin to realize that person has his or her own problems or issues that only serve to magnify your mistake.

Don’t justify your actions by blaming others for your mistakes or your actions. You alone are responsible. You alone can make the decision to hold steadfast to your integrity or to compromise it. You alone will suffer the consequences sooner or later, and it will be a bitter pill to swallow to know you were foolish to have sacrificed so much for so little.

WORTHWHILE CLICHES, QUOTES AND SCRIPTURES: 

 "The end does not justify the means" means that whatever effort or reason you had for doing something was not was not justified, because the end result was not what you wanted. 

“Don’t compromise on the little things and you won’t on the bigger ones.” means that giving in, starting with little things will soon have you giving in on bigger ones.  Soon, you reach a point of no return.  

Proverbs 11:3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. 

Proverbs 28:18 Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.

Zig Ziglar - "The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty."  

Janis Joplin - "Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got." 

Mahatma Gandhi - "All compromise is based on give and take, but there can be no give and take on fundamentals. Any compromise on mere fundamentals is a surrender. For it is all give and no take."

Tom Cochrane - "Tragedy in life normally comes with betrayal and compromise, and trading on your integrity and not having dignity in life. That's really where failure comes." 

Dennis Prager - "Goodness is about character - integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people." 

Chinua Achebe - "One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised." 

Erich Fromm - "Love is union with somebody, or something, outside oneself, under the condition of retaining the separateness and integrity of one's own self." 

Thomas S. Monson - "Perhaps the surest test of an individual's integrity is his refusal to do or say anything that would damage his self-respect." 

Junius - "The integrity of men is to be measured by their conduct, not by their professions." 

Henry Kravis - "If you don't have integrity, you have nothing. You can't buy it. You can have all the money in the world, but if you are not a moral and ethical person, you really have nothing." 

Charles Caleb Colton - "Nothing more completely baffles one who is full of trick and duplicity than straightforward and simple integrity in another." 

Scott Ritter - "One, if you attack my integrity, I will defend myself. If you attack my patriotism, I will defend myself. If you come after my family, I will counter-attack viciously. I will destroy you."