The Selection – Integrity

I recently watched an episode of the History Channel's newest show, “The Selection” entitled “Humility”.  If you’ve not seen the show, it’s a reality-based TV show where 30 candidates volunteer to enter into a selection process very similar to that of military special operations recruits…(think, Navy Seals, Green Berets, Army Rangers, etc).  I’ve watch each and every episode; sometimes cringing at the difficult tasks that each candidate is put through.  Many of the tasks are physical…many are mental…and all will test the strongest person you could find in body or psyche.  From 30 candidates…they were down to 5 remaining.

Here's a taste of the show; talking with an instructor about "perspective".  Check it out...

The Selection: Bonus - Have Perspective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3BRrS8Jkp8

 

 
In the “Humility” episode, the theme of the exercises they participated in was a focus on ‘integrity’.  They were given a serious of ‘integrity stations’ where they had to perform a variety of physical tasks and do them exactly as expected to perfection, with no mistakes.  Unlike other tasks they had done in the past, this time they were not being watch by the instructors and so in lies the requirement to be honest with themselves and demonstrate integrity when no one is watching.

I like Webster’s definition for kids of the word ‘integrity’: “total honesty and sincerity”.  That’s pretty simple and easy to understand. 

C.S. Lewis put it another way…”Doing the right thing even when no one is watching”. 

Life is fraught with opportunities to put integrity to the test.  The sign at the stoplight might say, “No Right On Red”…and yet people do it anyway.  The boss might have a rule, “Using social media accounts during work time is prohibited”.  And still, people post on Facebook or Snapchat when the door to the office is closed.  And like the picture below, it usually doesn’t take much intelligence to figure out who is doing their part in holding up the log…and who isn’t.

 

No matter the situation, place or time, human nature proves time and again that a person’s integrity is a really hard thing to maintain.  Social status, wealth or position don’t seem to matter.  We can all cite examples of politicians, celebrities, pastors, teachers, police officers, or just the average ‘Joe’ on the street that can’t seem to maintain their integrity.  Religious affiliation doesn’t seem to matter either…Christian, Jew, Muslim, Bahá’í, Buddist, Hindu, or any other kind of religious order or cult.  They all have those who fail their own integrity station. 

But back to “The Selection” episode I referred to.  What the candidates didn’t know was that there were hidden cameras all along the trail and at each station, watching to see if they did each task correctly to perfection…and didn’t cheat. 

 

A couple of the instructors put the importance of integrity into perspective in a narrative form for those watching the show…and I really liked how the point was made.  Here’s part of what they said.

“Integrity is a dangerous thing, and I’ll put it in perspective.  Everybody wants to be on top of the mountain, but the problem now days is people want to get dropped off at the top of the hill and look down. You see the way we’re (Special Ops) taught is, you’re gonna claw, you’re gonna scratch, you’re gonna bite, you’re gonna dig, you’re gonna do whatever it takes to get to the top of that mountain.  And if somebody or something says you need to do 50 burpees (type of exercise) that’s just an obstruction in life.  That’s the symbolism.  The exercise means nothing.  You wanna climb up that mountain?   Integrity is key.

You know…imagine what you can get done in this world if nobody cares who gets the credit for it.  If there was any mindset that special operations has, it is selflessness.  It makes you feel liberated.  Anything that you do, as long as it’s for something that you believe in, there’s no effort, there’s no pride, there’s no ego…there’s just straight happiness. 

What’s so important about integrity and why hit it so much?  It’s not just about being in the military, it’s about life.  Why on earth would you want to short change something?  You lead by example.  And the reason why that integrity station is so key and so vital is that myself and every other instructor lead by example. 

Again, integrity can be contagious, and it’s a good thing.  So when we tell people, ‘hey…get from point A to point B and whatever the hell gets in your way, do it’, we want it done.  And what’s the end result by the time we get there?  Perfection.

I wanted to see if the team, even though they had been broken off as individuals would still work as one, right?  Because if everybody does 100 percent then it’s complete. 

People can see through bullshit.  And people can tell when people don’t have integrity.  It’s something that would not, and will not, be tolerated.”

Of course, as you might guess, one candidate failed the integrity test.  I found it humorous that the instructors used the same words I used to say to my girls growing up.  “I want you to tell me what you did wrong…and don’t lie to me, because I already know the answer.”  One candidate almost immediately stood up and admitted that he may have failed to count all the reps for one exercise and thinks he might have missed one or two.  The video proved him right.  Instead of 50…he only did 48. 

There was hell to pay, for sure.  The instructor looked him dead in the eye…read him the riot act…dressed him down…and then paused to stare him in the face.  What he discovered was true remorse for having failed.  The instructor, believing there was no ill intent, allowed the candidate to ‘think about what he’d done’ and stew on it for awhile…fearing he was about to be eliminated from the program. 

After some time the instructor announced the candidate would be allowed to repeat the exercise in its entirety and remain in the program.  But you want to know what was truly inspiring?  After getting chewed out and apologizing to his fellow candidates for failing the team, each of them tried to encourage him…admitting that any one of them might have accidently done the same.  They rallied around him in support.  And then…once it was announced he would have to repeat the exercise, all four of the remaining candidates said, “We’ll do it over with you”.  And they did. 

That, my friend, is comradery, teamwork, friendship, honesty, and integrity.  Those five candidates had been to hell and back…and they did it together.  What started as an individual quest, turned into a group effort.  They no longer did it for selfish reasons.  They did it for someone else.

Jesus Christ put it this way to his disciples: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

Integrity – it’s a character trait worth dying for. 

- Papa Chief