by Peter Hendsbee

Created on: April 09, 2009

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines integrity as "the firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values" and "the quality or state of being complete or undivided". Therefore, keeping your integrity is to consistently protect and defend the beliefs and opinions that are important to you.

This implies several things. First of all, you must have a belief or opinion of some importance to you; often called a conviction. Secondly, you must be willing to defend your conviction at the risk of some cost to you. Thirdly, that you must be consistent in the level of importance placed upon the conviction and in your willingness to defend it.

Virtually everyone has a belief or opinion that is important to them. The belief or opinion does not have to be rational, logical or accepted as legitimate by society. It simply has to have some importance placed upon it. However, assuming for the moment that there exists a person without any convictions, by definition that person could not have any integrity and therefore has no ability to keep it.

Having integrity does not necessarily mean that you can easily keep it. A willingness to defend your convictions is vital to keeping your integrity. You must be willing to risk the loss of something in order to defend your belief or opinion. Usually, the cost you are willing to suffer to defend a conviction is a direct reflection of the level of importance placed upon it. In some cases you may lose reputation or popularity for example, or as many historic figures have demonstrated, even your life, but if you are not willing to risk a certain amount of loss to defend your conviction, you cannot keep your integrity.

Likewise, to keep your integrity means that you must be consistent in the level of importance you place upon the belief or opinion and in the loss you are willing to endure in defense of it. This also directly implies that your words and actions must demonstrate the same level of certainty regarding your position. If your words proclaim and defend your conviction but your actions demonstrate a lack of importance placed upon that same conviction, you will lose your integrity in the eyes of those who witness the imbalance. Similarly, if one day you strongly defend your position but easily dismiss it the next, you will not be able to keep your integrity.

It is important to recognize that keeping your integrity does not necessarily mean that your values will always be the same or that the strength of your convictions will always remain at the same level. You grow, you change, you learn and you experience new things. Each of these can cause you to re-evaluate and adjust your convictions. New knowledge gained through learning and experience can cause you to realign your convictions to be consistent with the new discovery. Keeping your integrity through these situations means that you alter your convictions with thoughtful intent, taking care to demonstrate respect for your previous position, and a willingness to defend your altered conviction.

As you can see, keeping your integrity means that you must be diligent and consistent in word and deed regarding your convictions and be willing to defend your position against possible opposition. It takes a conscious, diligent effort to guard your integrity, and this, in itself, is an important belief. This is what it means to keep your integrity.

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