Integrity: you & me - now & then

Integrity is the essence of everything successful......

"Integrity for me means adherence to strong moral and ethical principles while conducting our life whether or not other people are watching." Bucky Fuller’s (R. Buckminster) statement therefore implies that one has to carry out all life activities within ethical and moral limits to be rewarded with success.

Simply put, do good and it'll turn out good!

There is no denying of the fact that integrity of character is the minimum one requires for a success story although this not always the most visible trait of successful individuals. There are unfortunately many corrupts who gatecrashed into that league but we can always argue that exception proves the rule.

People have changed over the past century and today they are not so keen to retain the moral high grounds. Historian Warren Susman has opined in his book “Culture as History: the Transformation of American Society in the Twentieth Century” that the use of the word “character” peaked in the 19th century when it remained a key word in the vocabulary of Americans and Englishmen.” It was then very important to society and was promoted as an essential component of one’s identity. Integrity no doubt tops any list for good character traits.

What other desirable traits could you think of? Maybe some of these:

• Self-discipline
• Conscientiousness
• Honesty
• Reliability
• Optimism
• Compassion
• Kindness
• Perseverance
• Generosity
• Courageousness
• Authenticity
• Forgiveness
• Fairness
• Humility
• Responsibility
• Respectfulness
• Loyalty