Integrity is one of your most precious possessions. Every time you do something that is not worthy of you--not repaying a debt, for example--a bit of your energy is caught up in that little lapse of integrity, and held there until restitution is made.
As you go through life it can go one of two ways--you pile up these little lapses, losing more and more of yourself. It can become easier and easier to let things slide. That's one way. You can be successful doing it this way, but it may feel hollow.
The second way is to realize, sooner or later, that the most important work you can do is to evolve out of the old pattern of moral short-cuts into a fuller and freer expression of yourself. That requires getting your personal integrity into the best possible shape. The lapses are not forgotten, as you know. They are there, waiting to be rectified. So, you find the person who loaned you some money ten years ago, and you pay them back. You find the person you cheated and find out how to set that right. You attend to your behavior every day, and fix up little lapses as you go along.
Your integrity will start to repair. You reclaim more of yourself. The possibilities for your life will become larger and more fitting to the person you are. You will find that success is defined differently, responded to differently, and is more satisfying.
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