Integrity and How It Effects Me

Integrity and How It Effects Me and Everyone Around Me
By AS2(AW) Matthew Schutte
Webster's dictionary defines integrity as "uncompromising adherence to a code of moral, artistic or other values; utter sincerity, honesty and candor, avoidance of deception, expediency, or shallowness of any kind" Let us exam this definition a bit deeper. The first part of the definition talks of uncompromising adherence. This means that one would always choose the "right" path, regardless of what seems to be more appealing. Take the example of when and when not to lie. A person of integrity would always tell the truth regardless of the situation. The second part of the definition deals with what to avoid. Integrity demands complete openness always. The leader of integrity would never try to knowingly deceive his constituents at any time. The leader would always be open and honest. It is something that compels someone to make the right choice in a tough situation. It is a little voice in your head that tells you when your making a poor decision. I chose to ignore that little voice in my head and I have destroyed my character, which is greatly reflected upon who I am as a person and my personal integrity. It is so easy for us to ignore that little voice and make a poor decision just because that path looks a lot easier in the beginning. But as you keep walking that path, you soon find that it is not as easy as it seemed at first, and then all at once things just cave in on you, and you wind up finding yourself in a place that has become very dark and rough. Which is exactly what happened to me, I chose to take the path that looked easier at first. And I accomplished this by lying.   A lie is defined as an untrue statement with intent to deceive. And that is exactly what I did. I created an untrue statement and attempted to deceive my chain of command in order to get to that easier path. I failed to act on my core commitments, through the weakness of my will, my cowardice, and my...