Losing your standards and integrity is like shooting yourself in the foot

Ever heard of the phrase ‘Shooting yourself in the foot’? Or perhaps ‘stabbing someone in the back’. I know that all sounds rather violent and you’re thinking I’m going to be writing about crime in Kuala Lumpur, but for those who actually understand the meaning of the two phrases, the rest of my insane ramblings should actually make sense.

Coming from a very governed, standards-orientated and rule-obedient society, we English can seem, well, almost robotic in our responses and reactions to certain situations or scenarios, but it’s just that we are used to thinking and doing things in a certain way and this is what we regard as our standards and the ability to uphold those standards as our integrity.