Integrity

**INTEGRITY**
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Discussion Questions for the Video
“The highest courage is to dare to be yourself in the face of adversity. Choosing right over wrong, ethics over convenience, and truth over popularity. . these are the choices that measure your life. Travel the path of integritywithout looking back, for there is never a wrong time to dothe right thing.”

1. Define //integrity// and //character.// Explain the relationship between these two terms.

2. Integrity is something that must exist in the individual, the team, and the organization. What happens if integrity is not present in an organization or an employee?

3. How do the values, morals, and ethical principles we hold to be important affect the decisions we make in life? Consider your personal life and your future profession. Provide examples of decisions you’ve made based on your values and integrity.

4. It takes a lifetime to build your reputation and only an instant to destroy it. How does integrity factor into building a reputation? Why is it important to work hard to build a good reputation at home, in school, and at work? What type of reputation do you want to have? List several ways in which you can start building your reputation now. 5. Integrity means doing the right thing even when no one is looking. Why is it important to be honest no matter what?

6. In a professional sense, what does it mean to demonstrate your personal integrity in the workplace? Consider a career that you are interested in and provide specific examples of how a person of strong and honest character would demonstrate those qualities in the workplace.

Activities
//These can be used prior to the video and/or as follow-up// 1. Roy E. Disney (of the Walt Disney Company) once said, “It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” Integrity comes through holding strong to one’s convictions. Once you understand and know what values you believe are necessary to be a good person, it is easier to make decisions. Create a list of core values that you believe are important to building a good character. Why is each of these important to you?

2. Your personal values help to shape your vision of the person you want to be someday. Create your own personal vision statement pertaining to the individual you want to become. Consider the values you listed as being most important to you, the values you expect to uphold in your life. Explain why you want to work hard to stay committed to these principles. Write your personal vision statement on a piece of paper and illustrate it. Keep it in a place that you will see every day to remind you of the person you are working to become. 3. “Your true character is revealed by the clarity of your convictions, the choices you make, and the promises you keep. Hold strongly to your principles and refuse to follow the currents of convenience. What you say and do defines who you are, and who you are. . . you are forever.” This anonymous quote expresses some very powerful ideas. Take it apart statement by statement and explain exactly what this quote is saying. Describe some situations in your life in which your choices reflected your beliefs. Were there any decisions that you have made that did not sync with your values? Why did you make those decisions? Consider what you have said and done recently, around your friends, at home, in school. What did your words and actions say about you as a person? Are you portraying a clear image of the person you want to become?

4. Consider a career that interests you. Research this career using various online resources to learn about some of the everyday responsibilities of such a position. Create a list of some specific instances in which you foresee your personal integrity coming into play. In each of these circumstances, why would it be important for you to have integrity in the work you do? What would happen if you cut corners or did not uphold your beliefs as well as the company’s values and expectations?

5. Being a person who holds strong to her/his principles is not always easy. There may be times when you will ask yourself, “Why am I making this more difficult? Why not just give in to what everyone else thinks?” There are many great figures who have struggled with the same questions as they fought to stand for what they believed. Do some research on a historical figure (or two) who fought for his/her beliefs and ultimately changed the world for the better. Reflect on this person (or persons) in your journal.