Brett & Kate McKay explain why our everyday choices make or break our integrity.
Once you commit one dishonest act, your moral standards loosen, your self-perception as an honest person gets a little hazier, your ability to rationalize goes up, and your fudge factor margin increases. Where you draw the line between ethical and unethical, honest and dishonest, moves outward. […]
What this means is that if you want to maintain your integrity, the best thing you can do is to never take that first dishonest step. No matter how small and inconsequential a choice may seem at the time, it may start you down a path that tarnishes your moral compass, leads you to commit more serious misdeeds, and causes you to compromise your fundamental principles.
On my desk, I have a piece of foundational Lego that sits under my monitor.
Years ago a friend told me that we cannot simply hope we will be honest and true in big decisions. It’s the private and mundane decisions that prepare us for bigger responsibilities. These everyday choices are the foundation for our big decisions. He gave me and a hundred others a similar Lego piece as a reminder.
Applying this principle daily has made a big difference in my life.