I saw this post from a friend on social media this morning. It really rang my internal bell. He is currently at Everest, and if that isn’t inspiring enough the insight he shared (below) is critical. In a world that seems to be polarizing more and more, do what’s right, even if it means changing your mind, path, and/or commitment – that’s integrity.
Phil Gore’ Post:
The Memorial to Lost Climbers on Everest
Integrity is oneness with yourself. It means doing the right things in the moment, regardless of what others may think. It means that you are true to yourself.
It does not mean you always stay with your plans or keep your commitments. Integrity is keeping commitments when you should and breaking them when that is the right thing to do.
Most of the dead people remembered by this memorial, either they or someone they believed in were more stubbornly determined to keep their commitment to a summit than they were to doing the right thing in the moment.
This is not criticism or throwing stones. I have made this mistake. Once, it nearly cost two lives, and once it cost a life.
If you read this far, examine your understanding of the word integrity. Don’t buy an ill-conceived understanding of the term. Sometimes, it means keeping commitments, and sometimes it means breaking them. May God help each of us to live lives of integrity and do right things in the moments we have.