Integrity, Intiative, Good Judgment....oh my...

My parents taught me to do the right thing even when nobody was looking, they taught me to use my best judgment, if it doesn’t feel right, there is a pretty good chance it’s not, take initiative and be the change you want to see in the world.    Maybe they didn’t use those exact words and phrases, but the point was still the same.  I look at my kids and think are these the same values I am instilling into them?  I asked my teenage son the other night “Okay so here is the deal, I have a job interview at the company I am working temporarily for, it is jeans day and I already work there so can I just wear the jeans?” and he looked at me without hesitation said “But mom it is still a job interview.”  Since he is a teenager my expectation, or maybe it was my hope, that he would say “yeah it’s okay to wear the jeans.”  So needless to say today I dressed in my Integrity, Initiative and good judgment interview outfit.  The outfit showed my integrity because he was right “it was the right thing to do”, it showed my good judgment because “it was the appropriate thing to do” and my initiative because “it was a responsible thing to do.”  I am not sure how the interview went,   but I will say that with all the other employees in Jeans and casual work attire, I absolutely stood out.  What better way to boost your self esteem before an interview than to have a large group of people all dressed in jeans tell you how great look.    Back in early November my 2^nd son found 12.00 on the floor at the middle school, I did not realize this and put some money on the buffet.  Ben saw it and said “hey is that the money I found at school?”  apparently it was about the same amount.  He explained what had happened and that he turned the money in to the secretary at the school.  I expressed to him how proud I was of him and he said “yeah well I only turned it in because someone saw me find it”  “Really, Ben that would make me so sad to think you would not do the right thing” “I am just kidding” and he wandered off.  Now, was he really kidding, I can’t be sure but I am really glad that someone was watching because maybe next time nobody will be watching and he will still do the right thing, of course the fact that  a few weeks later they gave him the money didn’t hurt things either.  A little positive reinforcement goes a long way.