Excellence in Another’s Eyes
We often measure our self-worth through the eye’s of “society’s norms.” This is why, for the most part, people get caught in a web of “I must be this way or that,” and not in the reality of their own true worth. Body type shaming, social excesses in drinking or promiscuity, and other socially driven actions can draw down those who do not know what it is to be your own person. Do you drink because your friends think it’s the cool thing to do? Do you give in to the pressure to go farther than you feel comfortable because that’s what is expected? Do you let your friends talk you into doing something that deep down you know is wrong?
I understand the peer-pressure game because I went through it myself. I did things that I knew weren’t right because I wanted to belong. I gave in to pressures that I shouldn’t have because I wanted to be loved. I gave up my own values because I thought that I could be a part of the “cool kids.” Very few things in my life came out that were good when I gave in, a few, but not many. The one big thing that turned out good from all of those times was the ”education” that just because I did what the “in-crowd” did didn’t mean that I was doing what would ultimately build integrity.
Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness, or the state of being whole and undivided. I believe that I like the second description of integrity better, even though it is used more in the way of the strength of materials. Many times, after earthquakes, fires or other catastrophic events you hear people speaking of the “structural integrity” of buildings. What they mean by this is that if it is good, then the structure is solid and safe. If you have a building where the foundation lacks integrity, then you have a building that may fall down at a moment’s notice. The same goes for our own personal and business integrity.
If your integrity has issues such as not following through on promises or fulfilling your duties, your house of integrity could come crashing down all around you. If this were to happen, you could lose trust from others, you could lose your business, or you could even lose relationships with friends and family. When you lose your integrity, you lose trust, and that is a very hard thing to get back. Loss of your relationship with your family is one of the hardest things to recover from because it is much harder to rebuild trust than to maintain it. This is why you must make it a daily habit to build and maintain your integrity.
Make it a habit to consider the promises that you make before you make them. Think about the words that you are about to speak before you say them. Before you post on social media, consider whether it is something that is going to build others up or tear them down. Look at your entire life and do an “integrity inventory.” Where is your integrity strong and in what ways does it need to be strengthened? In doing this, your journey to true excellence will be on its way.
Until next time, #LiveAboveAVG!
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