Is it cheating if everyone is doing it? Is fairness just a level playing field? Are the win and profit at all costs mentality exemplified by the BioGenesis 13 and Johnny Football our new standard?
In the past few weeks I’ve been writing about win/win solutions and dovetailed outcomes for achieving our goals. This week the sports and news pages are filling up again with the counter argument. The win at all costs culture and narcissism of those who feel above the rules and entitled to get their just rewards right now. I won’t rehash details, just go to ESPN or the Zone and read until you have to take a puke break.
Much of the commentary about Johnny Manziel has included questions about whether the rules about amateur status and the NCAA profit off the images of student athletes is fair. So many baseball players are now coming out to condemn a practice of cheating that they either condoned through their silence or under the guise of their collective bargaining agreements. Unfortunately, it comes down to power and money, time and again.
Integrity comes from doing what is right, not following or hiding behind a rule book. Integrity is an internal process. It is literally lining up the inner and the outer so they are congruent. It’s not morality. It’s not compliance. It is honoring the truth and acting in accordance.
Unfortunately, the honest, fair, patient, equanimous, compassionate, inclusive and generous path rarely leads to bling. Experience tells me it does lead to a good night’s sleep and the ability to look in the mirror without one of the aforementioned puke breaks.
It doesn’t have to be a zero sum game.
As I read over my post from last Thursday on the filters we need for our minds, one that lets thoughts flow through without our holding on to them and on that restricts the inane and useless thoughts that flow out our mouth, I realized I may not have been clear enough.
Common ecological practices include the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. They also include clean and renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind, geothermal and others.
Both of these seemingly unrelated tidbits entered my field of vision this morning. The first from a daily inspiration email I subscribe to called “Loving Each Day”; the second in the NY Times online edition.
Action follows thought. Remember my earlier posts about vectors and influence. Our vision is the guidance system for our actions. But it’s not like an arrow that you aim, release and hope for the best. It’s like an airplane in flight, getting constant course correction from the air traffic control system. Once your ‘arrow’ is off the bow and in flight to its target, constant focus on the vision of the successful outcome steers us to the bullseye. I like that the verbs in the quote above are carry and develop. To me develop means it continues to evolve. It’s not a one and done deal. Persistence, repetition, practice are all part of the development. Carry give me the sense that I am involved the whole way. Not throw or shoot or launch and then out of my control but carry to the finish, protect, lift, guide and deliver. That’s how we get from vision, through action to goal.
The Practice of Productivity 