Integrity

Integrity to me is a standard that sets the boundaries by which I think and behave. Integrity is doing what is honorable when no one knows but me and God. In order to live a life based on honesty and integrity, you must know who you are and what you stand for, and you must also police yourself on a daily basis, ensuring that you aren't doing anything that conflict's with your own values or moral code. For example, if you told someone that you value honesty in a person. But then become upset when they told you their honest opinion of you, that wouldn’t show good integrity on your part. Or when you tell someone that you believe in treating everyone with respect, and then get angry with a sale clerk because they miss priced something in the store.

So what is the big deal if you tell yourself one thing and then go and do another? Besides the fact that you are only lying to yourself...but still...what’s the deal? Well, when you lie to yourself it is a big deal! When you justify lying to yourself by thinking that you are the only person who will know about the lie, you automatically imply that your judgment is unimportant and that only the judgment of others is what counts. Which in time you will trust yourself less and less, and eventually not at all. Who wants that? Not me!

So when you get confused and don’t know what to think…think about the people who you trust and respect. Most likely they are people who do what they say, and say what they mean. They are people of integrity.