Choosing to compete clean when others cut corners means you might lose to cheaters. You’ll still know what you won.
RESILIENCE
WHAT THIS MEANS
Playing straight has a real cost and pretending otherwise is dishonest. Sometimes the person who cut the corner takes the medal, and no principle gets it back for you. What you keep is narrower and more durable: you know what your result was made of, and never have to wonder whether you could have done it anyway.
Decide where your line is before you are in a situation that tests it, since deciding in the moment goes badly. If you know somebody is cheating, telling an official is a separate and harder choice, and yours to make. And keep your own record honest, including the times nobody would have checked.
A QUESTION TO SIT WITH
Where have you been tempted to cut a corner others already cut?
MORE IN COURAGE & RISK
- Speaking up in a meeting at your first job is terrifying. Good bosses remember the new hire who asked a good question.
- The new kid who introduces themselves first gets to pick the friend instead of waiting to be picked.
- Courage looks different at 2 a.m. in a hospital than it does on a stage. Both are real.
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.