Convenience Integrity Can Bite You

Have you ever reflected on how ‘convenience integrity’ comes back to bite you?

I woke up this morning with a nagging feeling. I realized that twice this year I’ve hired subcontractors in my different businesses that I knew were not up to the job. In fact whenever I’ve ‘settled’ on a person who seemed to be under qualified, it was because my mind told me that there was no one out there who was perfectly suited for the job. AND this ‘convenience integrity’ doesn’t stop here – it happens in personal life too.

What I realize in reflection, is that the perfect person, meeting all the integrity requirements, was there all the time, and it was only my attitude of scarcity that blocked me from connecting with them.

That’s what I mean by CONVENIENCE INTEGRITY. That’s when you make a decision to do something despite your better judgment. You talk yourself into something by saying “Oh well, it’s probably not going to be a problem.” Maybe someone asks you to do something – like take on a volunteer position - and you agree, knowing in your heart that it’s not a perfect fit for you. Or maybe you have an invitation to do something with a group and there are signs that the group and you have different moral values - but you do it anyway because there seems to be an opportunity in it for you, and you ignore the future downside of those different moral values, and later it comes back to bite you.

I remember a friend of mine who was having horrible problems with an associate. The associate had a volatile personality in the office, but was fun loving at parties. Because she had met him at a party and saw his fun loving side first, she choose to ignore the signs of his volatility, and engaged his services anyway. Ignoring that cost her thousands of dollars and sleepless nights. It also cost her friends grief as she continued to ignore the downside of working with him, spilling her complaints onto her friends, and entangling them in her scenarios with him.

Or maybe, as I’ve done, you hire someone who gives signs of not working out, but your mind tells you that need them desperately. So you talk yourself into the shortcut of hiring them, rather than to look further for the right person. That’s ‘convenience integrity.’ It’s against your personal integrity. That nagging feeling is there but you choose to ignore it. You do it because it’s convenient for you at that moment. You do it saying, “Oh I’m sure there won’t be any problems,” while deep within you, you know differently.

An interesting point was made to me many years ago, and it was this: “When things start out badly with someone, they rarely get better.” Keeping that in mind has helped me numerous times. Everyone has different values and standards of integrity. By listening to our own better judgment and connecting with people of the highest standards of integrity, we can impact the world in the most positive way.

Here’s an example of integrity with ones self and courage you might want to consider. A friend of mine decided some years ago that most of her friends were of a negative mindset. She decided she needed to be surrounded by positive friends, and immediately acquired a new set of friends with a positive mindset. She didn’t block herself with a scarcity mindset by saying things like, “All people have some negativity, so I’d better stick with the friend I have.” No, she opened her mind to the possibility that people existed of her mindset, and immediately they appeared.

THREE-SECOND FOCUS TIP: Think now of any niggling situations with people in your life – things that perhaps make you toss and turn at night. You can’t quite get a handle on it, but it’s there gnawing away at you. Now think of that person in question. Were there signs you ignored about integrity differences? Or signs of incompetence? Or moral value differences?

By settling on these relationships, we compromise our own personal integrity, and we block possibilities for the world. Decide now – as my friend did above in acquiring a whole new set of friends, what you can do to change your situation, then promise yourself to listen to your own personal integrity next time. When you do, you’ll be operating at you highest level. Then you and the world will benefit from collective integrity.

From WomenforWealth.com … For over 80 articles on business, personal and community empowerment, go to www.WomenForWealth.com