Do you do the right thing when no one is watching ?
Because Integrity is always doing the right thing.
Scenario 1 :
Yesterday, I was stuck in front of the red light at the signal.
When I looked around, I found myself alone stuck at the red light and luckily the traffic cops were not anywhere around , so I simply moved ahead without caring for the lights to turn green.
But what if there were cops or at least some other stranger stuck in the same red light. I would have simply waited for the light to turn green , as deep down I knew , that “Someone is watching.”
Scenario 2:
Let’s assume that the teacher has given you some assignment for the subject that you are genuinely interested in.
If she is not going to check each and every assignment and is just counting the number of assignments submitted to award internal marks, you will probably copy your classmate’s work or copy from the Internet as it won’t matter much.
But what if she check’s each and every assignment and rewards a ‘0’ to all the students who copied it from some other source ? You will do the assignment by yourself, because “someone is looking.”
Scenario 3 :
Imagine for a minute that you are getting obese and so you have started dieting.
Whenever there are people around you in case if you are hungry or going to eat, you will never cheat with your diet as you will always care about your reputation in front of them.
But the thing is, whenever you will be alone or “if no one is watching you”, you will always go for that delicious Extra Cheese Sandwich , or the dark chocolate that you cannot resist and will end up cheating yourself.
I hope that you now know where I am going with this…
Q. But, do you know what’s the difference between each of the two choices in every scenario stated above ?
Ans: You are lying to yourself in one of them. I lied too.
I lied to the only person that mattered the most. I lied to myself. I fooled everyone in the world, but I couldn’t fool myself.
This happens to us every day. We choose shortcuts, avoid doing our best work. Just because of the fact, that “No one is Looking.” But, is that all we want ? Someone’s appreciation , a pat on our back? This may sound good for the moment but sadly, won’t last long. The thing is,we forget that our reputation is the public perception of our integrity. Because it’s other people’s opinions of ourselves, it may or may not be accurate.
These may seem small things which happens once in a while to most of us, but it’s with these simple scenarios that we lay the foundation for how we behave for the bigger things in life. That’s the difference between the role models we choose to idolize and us.
A person’s true character is not determined by what they do or say when they’re in public, but it’s who they are when no one else is around.
Do you know how to get out of the vicious cycle ?
Ans. Avoid your temptations. Resist the obvious.
The next time when you skip those push-ups as soon as the gym-instructor goes away, the time the traffic light is red & there is no one around you, the time when you are on a diet and your favorite chocolate is placed in front of you, think about the person you want to be and the choices you want to make in your life. Every decision matters.
Remember, Integrity never comes with convenience, you cannot chose it according to the situation or when you want. You cannot chose it in degrees , some , many or a little.
Integrity is atomic. You either choose it or not. You either cultivate it or not.
Until Next Time …
