In our normal daily lives there should be a battle going on inside ourselves between the Good Wolf and the Bad Wolf – A battle between Accountability and Responsibility and Blame, Excuses or Denial.
As humans our little inside motor (I call it Hairy Harry) leans towards survival, low risk, little or no change and comfort.
So it is easy NOT to wage an inside war to improve or to rewire better habits or to keep the promises we make to ourselves (I will drink less, I will make a call to a friend, I will visit my neighbour, I will attend a Seminar to Design my own Good Life) – and to just be mediocre and live a mediocre life. There are no risks, no higher goals to achieve, few Responsibilities or Accountabilities. It is just easy to make Excuses or Blame someone else for our mediocrity.
It is basically a choice between the Pain of Discipline (to take an upturn in your life) or the Pain of Regret (to keep the status quo and forego who you could have been).
How we feel on the inside about ourselves and our situation is overall how we portray ourselves to others. If we are content and at peace – we will more likely reflect the virtues of kindness, joy, patience, empathy to others. If the Bad Wolf is winning inside us – we could easily portray fear, anger, vitriol or envy toward others.
Daily we hear about Integrity, Ethics, Transparency – and yet there appears to be more deceit, more fraud, more selfishness. We hear little in the public forum and News about Character and its Virtues. Could it be that it easy to let the Bad Wolf win?
“Character is doing the right thing – because it is the right thing to do; whether the whole world is watching or no one ever knows”.
Character includes the virtues of – Honesty, Respect, Excellence, Loyalty, Humility, Gratitude and Integrity – to name a few.
So what do you promise yourself daily – to become a better YOU? How often do you break these promises (like I do)?
Integrity is the very basis of our Character. The nature of who we are.
What do we really tell the Person looking back in the mirror at us? Do we acknowledge the lies we tell this Person? Or are we happy and content with the Person looking back in the mirror? For we can’t escape this Person in the Mirror.
Consider this very old poem (I have attempted to make it gender neutral – however it does lack the power of rhyme):
When you get what you want in your struggle for self
and the world makes you king (boss) for a day
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
and see what that man (person) has to say
For it isn’t your father or mother or wife (partner)
who judgment upon you must pass
The fellow (person) whose verdict counts the most in your life
is the one staring back from the glass
Some people may think you a straight-shooting chum
and call you a wonderful guy (person)
But the guy (person) in the glass says you’re only a bum
if you can’t look him (this person) straight in the eye
He’s (It’s) the fellow (person) to please never mind all the rest
for he’s with you (you are together) clear up to the end
And you’ve passed your most dangerous difficult test
if the man (person) in the glass is your friend
You may fool the whole world down the pathway
of life and get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartaches and
tears if you’ve cheated the man (person) in the glass
Dale Winbrow or Anonymous
There is no greater computer in the world than our own mind. If we don’t take the time to invest in our personal development and improvement – we will have lost a great opportunity and the person looking back in the glass will be a small relic of who we could be. We could end up a person who could be filled with regret and disappointment, with boredom and depression or with dis-satisfaction and disappointment.
You will have cheated the person in the glass – you will have cheated yourself. Don’t cheat The Person in the Glass.
“The aim of life is to see what you can become with all you’re got” Jim Rohn
Integrity is purity of intention. It seeks success in the service of others – not at the expense of others. It is a state of being that ensures that what we say and do – are aligned.
Integrity allows us to be the Person we really are – by reflecting it in the way we interact with others – in the decisions we make and the language we use.
So whatever Talk we Talk should be consistent with the Walk we Walk. We need to be at one with who we are and who we say we are.
Don’t cheat the Person in the Glass!!!
