Core Words: What is Integrity

Integrity. That word holds a pretty heavy punch. It's a loaded word. It's a word that most people would want as a word that describes them.

It was in 2001 when I learned this word and what it actually means. Not that I have never heard of or known of the word before, but in 2001 was when I finally got it. Finally got it through a mentor, a friend, a boss. For him, integrity is who you are and what you are when no one is looking or keeping you accountable. Integrity is your character. Integrity is who you really are and what you really are.

This definition of integrity stuck. It struck a chord with me in life. Does it really matter who you are and how you act when no one is there and no one cares? I'm not even invoking the idea of a higher power or God. Just on a very human level, does it matter? It's like asking the age-old riddle, "When a tree is cut in the middle of the forest and no one is there, does it still make a sound?" or "When there is a four way stop in the middle of the desert and you can see mile after miles of barrenness, do you still stop?"

This is integrity. When it still matters even though no one is there or holding you accountable. You are holding yourself to a higher calling and a higher road. This is integrity. You set your standard of living and you live by it. You set your mind on what to do and you do it. Your word is your action.

Integrity is one of my Core Words in life. It is in a sense the pinnacle of what I aim for.

Am I a paragon of Integrity? No, I'm a work in progress. I'm a constant change and challenge to become who I have envisioned myself to be. It's the act, the thought, and the heart of continually holding yourself higher that is important.

Is this all? No, this is but one of four parts that form the Core Words I live by. This is the pinnacle, the aim. But there is still the foundation and the two pillars that I will talk about in the coming posts.

How does this living with Integrity as a Core Word look like:

1. You do what you say, and you say what you do. (eg. If you make a promise with your wife, you keep that promise even if it hurts.)


2. You aim high in how you expect yourself to be. (eg. You submit yourself to a discipline of achieving and moving forward, not allowing yourself to have excuses in life.)


3. You allow yourself to be known by this virtue. (eg. Live a life in which people know you mean it, you're not a fake and you ain't hiding, you admit your wrongs and you fix them.)

So the question I want to leave you with is this, "Will you take up the ideal of Integrity and make it one of your Core Words in life?"

(This is part 5 of 5 pertaining to the ideal of Core Words.)

Part 1: Defining and Knowing Yourself

Part 2: What is Integrity

Part 3: Baseline of Faith

Part 4: Family

Part 5: Duty