The word is INTEGRITY

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Our blog today is dedicated to the word Integrity: a word that is easy to say and much more difficult to find!

The word 'Integrity' is derived from the Latin word Integer, meaning untouched, hence, undivided, whole, equivalent.  Webster defines 'Integrity' as:

in·teg·ri·ty

/?n't?gr?ti/ Show Spelled[in-teg-ri-tee]
noun
1.
adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
2.
the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.
3.
a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship's hull.
 
As a company, we define Integrity as keeping our promises. 
  • Doing what we say we are going to do
  • Treating others the way we would like to be treated
  • Consistently looking for ways to be of service
  • Putting our best efforts into our work
The lack of Integrity in our society, fills each news report and most articles in our local papers.  No relationship, industry or profession is exempt- think about Sports, Entertainment, Religion, Wall Street, Marriage, Friendship and dare I say Politics?   It would be incredibly easy to pluck a recent event from the headlines in any of these categories to illustrate the lack of Integrity in our society today.
 
We have made miraculous advances in technology and most every other field so why is it that we have fallen so far back with regard to personal Integrity?  When did the characteristics that define our world and more specifically our lives, stop including that now rarest of words: Integrity?  It is hard to pinpoint when the decline started- all of the articles and books I've read on the subject imply that the lack of personal responsibility in our society overall, has yielded a weaker set of base characteristics.  I am not sure, but I do know that we choose our own characteristics and we CAN choose Integrity!
 
Here are 3 steps to making Integrity a more central part of your daily walk:   
 
Step 1- Personal Integrity is a great place to start
  • Doing what we say
  • Meaning what we say and
  • Being a person of our word 
Step 2- Requiring/Expecting Integrity from those in our lives 
  • Teaching our children that Integrity is not an optional attribute but rather a true sign of a successful individual
  • Surrounding ourselves with Integrity based friendships
  • Dealing with Integrity based companies
Step 3- Reviewing our daily choices & Correcting when necessary
  • Being honest about our own Integrity and reviewing our daily choices allows us to get better each day and make those small improvements that lead to the place where we truly want to live
Integrity is NOT dead!  It is alive and well- we just have to look a little harder for it these days.  Let's be a part of the Integrity movement.  Focusing on ourselves first and then casting the net a little wider each day so that we can get back to a time and place where we can trust each other again.  A time where Integrity was the rule rather than the exception.

 
 
Cheri Perry 9/18/2018