The Oxford English Dictionary defines integrity as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
Integrity stems from our ideals, morals, and beliefs; if we have strong beliefs of what is right and wrong and make a concerted effort to stick true to what is right, that is our integrity. If you have integrity, you are honest and do the right thing even if no one is watching; you don’t need credit for what you have done because you know it was the right thing to do.
Oprah Winfrey said, “Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.”
You can’t be fake and have integrity. You cannot only do good things and be a good person when someone is around to see it. It is what you do when no one is around that determines who you are as a person, not what you say. You need to practise what you preach, you cannot say one thing and then do another. Charles H. Dyer said, “Conduct reveals character, and we best understand integrity when we see it lived out in a person’s life.”
Napoleon Hill said that if we can maintain our highest standards of integrity, then we are destined for greatness. If you have integrity, then people will trust you to do important things and they will give you more opportunities to progress in life.
We should all practice integrity, not only so we can be more trustworthy and more reliable but also so we can be more trusting. If we are dishonest and we don’t do what we know is right, then we expect the same from other people and land up not trusting anyone; a very lonely way to live.
If we practise integrity, then we will come to expect the best of people because that is what we are giving them. We need to be open to the idea that not everyone is bad, there are good people. If we don’t trust that people are being honest and good, maybe it is because we aren’t showing those qualities in our own actions.
If we practise integrity, people will follow suit. If you show people that there is good in the world, they will want to add to it. Denis Waitley said, “A life lived with integrity – even if it lacks the trappings of fame and fortune is a shining star in whose light others may follow in the years to come.”
