The path of least resistance is often the road to hypocrisy.  The smooth and easy paths in life rarely lead us to living a life of Integrity.  That is why Integrity is so darn hard!

I am not a saint. I have chosen the path of least resistance during my lifetime.  When I look back on those choices, I often sacrificed my Integrity at the alter of pragmatism.

Less Resistance Versus More Resistance

Here are some choices we all are faced with:

Less Resistance More Resistance
Staying quiet when the boss asks what happened. Being the first to speak up.
Ignoring an employee’s bad attitude because they are producing a lot. Correcting the bad attitude and expecting an immediate change.
Promising to punish my child yet not following through because I am tired. Getting up from my chair and fulfilling my promise of consequences.
Making an excuse for not keeping a commitment I made. Following through on every commitment no matter the  circumstances.

Each one of the examples in the left column is a lot easier than the example in the right column.  In fact, you could change the left column’s heading to Hypocrisy and the right column’s heading to Integrity.

The Easy Way Out 

The easy way out is often the most comfortable thing to do.

  • We don’t risk someone being angry.
  • We don’t risk having to exert ourselves.
  • We don’t risk messing up the status quo.  
  • We don’t risk having to take responsibility for the outcome.

But if I am a leader, at work or at home, the easy way out is almost always the short sighted choice.  If I choose the easy way out, I am setting myself up and setting up those I lead for long term consequences.

The Bottom Line:

None of us want to be led by a hypocrite and none of us want to be considered a hypocrite.  But when we choose the path of least resistance over our Integrity, that is exactly who we are becoming – a Hypocrite.

Being a Leader of Character is not complicated, but it is hard.  When we choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, we are choosing the path of most resistance over the path of least resistance.  We are choosing Integrity over Hypocrisy. We are choosing our Character over our comfort.

In fact, when we choose the path of most resistance, we are choosing to be the type of leaders people at our work, our spouses, and our children WANT to follow.

Question:

What other times is the path of least resistance the wrong path?

Dave Anderson is coauthor of the Amazon Best-Seller Becoming a Leader of Character – Six Habits that Make or Break a Leader at Work and at Home with his father General James L. Anderson (USA Retired).

You can order Becoming a Leader of Character on Amazon by clicking here:

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