Self Integrity

Vincent Van Goh said, “Conscience is a man’s moral compass.”

It is easy for people to stop listening to that inner guide and lose their bearings when faced with the enormous complexities and pressures in life. To stay grounded and maintain your integrity you must prepare yourself and this preparation involves self-reflection. This is made evident by the leaders in Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Game of Thrones created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and supported by the article Self-awareness and Conflict by Peter Vajda. When faced with a moral dilemma self-awareness enables you to understand your values, motivations and weaknesses helping you to maintain your integrity.

Author Peter Vajda states that; “People who are more self-aware

People who self-reflect look at what motivates them; where they are coming from and why they are coming from there. When there is equality between their actions and the integrity of their intent then they make a good leader. Daenerys Targaryen, in Game of Thrones is one such leader. Daenerys earned her designation of leader from the people she led. When we are self-aware, we judge ourselves by our intentions but other people judge us by our actions. When our intentions and our actions are in check we earn the respect of others. The Mother of Dragons is clam and soft on the exterior but underneath she is a willful, determined and courageous person with good intent. When she cries, “I will answer injustice with justice.”, we see her sense of justice. We see her compassion for those she leads and her ruthless towards her enemies in her cry, “Unsullied! Slay the masters, slay the soldiers, slay every man who holds a whip, but harm no child. Strike the chains off every slave you see!". She is ambitious and hungry for power but has a strong moral compass and as such uses her power wisely, to protect and empower and bring justice to those who are oppressed. According to Peters, self-reflection is necessary to recognize “the disconnect between what we say, feel think and do-disconnects that lead us to being out of harmony and out of integrity.” Daenerys does not act rashly but consults

When a building has integrity, it is strong and stable and without weakness. If you are weak willed then you are unable to resist negative influences or restrain your impulses you collapse under the pressure. Time and time again Game of Thrones forces its characters into positions of vulnerability in their fight towards power. Selyse and Stanis Baratheon, claimant to the throne, are examples of such characters. They are also examples of characters who are weak willed and fail miserably in their quest. Selyse has failed to produce Stanis with a son. All of her sons have been still born and this has caused her to zealously embrace a foreign religion. Selyse has surrendered every ounce of her being to the Lord of Light and his disciples, one of which is Melisandre. Selyse brings Melisandre to Dragonstone to aide in her and her husband’s ascent to the throne. She is undisturbed by the fact that Melisandre must sleep with her husband to conceive a son, the “shadow monster” and she continues to follow him even after learning that the Lord of Light uses pageantry and deception to help his converts see the truth. Stanis, after being defeated at Blackwater, has lost faith in himself as a victor and while he has a strong sense of duty and believes that sleeping with Melisandre is sinful and will shame his wife he does so anyways. While he is shaken by what has happened he allows Melisandre to take their only