Integrity, The Single, Most Important Quality People Need

"Integrity" is defined by the American Heritage dictionary as, "steadfast adherence to a strict moral and ethical code". More loosely defined, it generally means not intentionally harming, hurting others, as well as not stealing from, or cheating, others.

"Integrity" has always been my favorite word because it represents a perfect balance of strength, honor, kindness, and purity of one's soul. More importantly, it is something that anyone can decide to have, rather than something with which only some fortunate people are born.

The individual who acts as result of having integrity will usually have a built-in guide as to what is right and wrong. That isn't saying that a person with integrity won't make mistakes. Having integrity isn't about not making mistakes. If a person of integrity makes mistakes, however, he will try to correct them or at least hold himself responsible for them.

Having integrity doesn't mean never hurting someone else either. We all occasionally, and without intent, hurt someone at one time or another. The person with integrity, however, doesn't just disregard the wellbeing of the rest of the world in order to accomplish his own aims.

Think of all the crime and mistreatment that would not exist in this world if everyone had integrity. At the root of most crimes lies lack of integrity.

The person who has integrity feels good about the person he is. Things come and go in life, and sometimes that tremendously solid feeling one gets from knowing he has intregrity can actually be enough to get him through those otherwise tumultuous times.

People with solid integrity generally enjoy the respect of others, besides having that solid sense of self-respect that integrity gives to those who have it.

Having integrity isn't always about following the a religion's rules about right and wrong, because religions can have different views about that. Neither is it necessarily about always following a government's laws (although, in general, it usually is). Governments, however, can make laws and policies that are not in keeping with integrity, so sometimes that can be a reason to go against such laws.

Integrity brings with it honesty, respect for others and the world, finding the strength to do what is right, and any number of other positive attributes/behaviors; so it may be the single most important thing anyone could have. It is the thing that - if we are honest about any situation - will guide us into making the moral, ethical, and sometimes compassionate choice.

Regardless of our background, education, abilities, or income level, integrity is something each and every one of us can simply choose to have. It both grounds us and frees us at the same time. It grounds us because of that sense of being a solid, unwaivering, decent and whole individual. It frees us because it allows us to live without unnecessary guilt,;while it lays before us only options that are not destructive in the way that poorer choices often are.

It's the thing that not only lets us sleep at night, but that makes those who know us think we are worthy of such guilt-free sleep. Further, integrity is something that our children usually admire and emulate

There's no doubt that there can at times be a price to pay for having integrity because the world does not always reward it or even respect it. Still, each of us forms his sense of self-esteem and worth based on whether we like who we are, and whether, if an angel could ride around on our shoulder throughout our whole life, that angel would approve of how we live our lives.

Integrity implies strength and sureness. It is not something that goes against one's ability to be a leader. Ideally, all leaders should have it. While it is something that requires a certain amount of maturity and self-control to have, it is also something that makes us more mature and more willing to see the value and importance of self-control.

It's the thing that makes us believe that if there's a Heaven we'll get in, but if there's nothing after life on Earth we'll at least die in peace, having lived life as a good person.

Of all the words in all the dictionaries in all the world, "integrity" (and its comparable translation) is a word that, more than all others, has a substance and life of its own to the point where the printed letters that form it cannot be worthy of it.