Day 74
Prompt: What makes someone worthy of high regard and do you adhere to that
Hi Nigel
‘Hiya! I’m not sure that has a simple answer’
I can guarantee it doesn’t, mate.
‘It’s ethics, I think’
But what ethics, not all ethics are good ones to have.
‘Are you saying those people who do mean or nasty things have ethics?’
Everyone has ethics, some may not meet your standards though.
‘So it is what I see as ethical, not a generalization?’
Exactly. We tend to hold high regard for people who meet or even exceed our own ethical standards but that doesn’t mean people who don’t meet those standards don’t have any ethics.
‘But that means we are setting the bar too high?’
No, not at all. If you are setting a standard, especially an ethical one, only one person has to truly live up to it.
‘Me’
Yes. So you are not going to let someone else lower it for you
‘Indeed, not. So this is what I expect of myself, more than anything?’
Sort of, when we know what we expect of ourselves it is easier to identify what we will accept from others
‘Honesty matters to me.’
So are you honest with yourself?
‘I can’t lie to me, can I?’
Can’t you? Can I call you out as a liar if you say you have never deceived yourself?
‘I can’t say I haven’t, damn you’
Don’t worry, nor can I.
‘So what’s the point in having standards if we can’t do it.’
It’s where integrity comes in
‘Integrity is living by our own standards, isn’t it’
That’s the narrow definition of the word and doesn’t allow for error of judgment, for example
‘Yeah, that makes life really hard. So how do we live with integrity?’
Well, do your standards and ethics change because you made one mistake?
‘Hell, no. I try to work it out and get back on track’
And that is the wider definition of integrity. See you tomorrow, Nige
©JezzieG2024