“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” – C.S. Lewis
“The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Integrity is the value you place on your words and actions. “Integrity is the practice of being honest and showing a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values.” – Wikipedia. Who wouldn’t want to be described as a person of integrity? Most people think they are and a lot more want to be seen that way but when push comes to shove, that is when the real men are separated from the boys. As you continue to explore ways to be better people, the one major thing that will torpedo your personal development is a lack of integrity. It is indispensable. Integrity is wholesomeness. This means that you are the same as your word, appearance, and actions all the time. All these are what you are, what you believe, what your morals are, and what you represent in life. Our choices speak much about where we are on the integrity scale. From the company we keep to how we speak and what we believe, integrity or lack of, is embedded in it.
How to know if you are a person of integrity:
First, take stock of the way you live your life. Do you borrow or rent a luxury car to take your date out because you want to impress even though it is beyond what you can afford? Do you lie to people about the part of town you reside in because you want to create the wrong impression of who you are? Do you cheat and lie just because you want to win? Do you lie about your academic qualifications to impress or gain an undue advantage? Do you keep the company of people who lack integrity? These are some of the things that will question ones’ sense of personal integrity. Another way of checking your integrity status is by asking those five people you spend most of your time with. You can also feel the pulse of your employees if you are a boss and your clients too. This is not going to be easy but look for ways that you can get honest feedback from them. Try to get feedback that is as specific as possible.
Except for people who chose not to care, most people lack integrity due to negligence or ignorance. It is for the same reason that most people are not successful. Integrity is an integral part of success. If you want to be successful, you must court integrity. And here are some of the things you can do to help yourself.
How to build integrity:
Like anything of value, developing an integrity persona is not easy. It takes determination, effort, and focus. It is internal work. If you have not been conscious of integrity in the past, you will need the patience to turn the corner because integrity is part of your reputation. It will take a little while for you to adopt new skills and for people to erase your old reputation. These skills will help you to develop and strengthen your integrity.
- Avoid acting on impulse – think before you act. People who have this skill seldom regret their actions and people tend to stick with them even when the chips are down because they are known to think before acting. They are trusted because they make sound decisions.
- Speak up when it is necessary – Even if the situation may cost you something of value, you should speak up. If you are in a check-in queue and someone had just stepped aside to weigh her luggage, you know this person was ahead of you by three persons. If the check-in clerk did not see what happened and sends the passenger to the end of the queue, speak up even though it might cost you some time. It could be at your work. You can speak up in defense of a colleague about an abusive manager at the risk of being sidelined or losing your job.
- Avoid impulsive reactions – think before you speak or act. If you always react impulsively, ask yourself, “Why do I feel the need to be impulsive?” Think it through and take notes of what triggers your impulsive reactions. Work on yourself. Besides getting into avoidable troubles, being impulsive is at best tacky. Tacky is not integrity.
- Keep your promise – Part of the reason people don’t keep their promises is that they speak before they think or they embellished what they said. It could be because you want to impress someone or you just don’t think things through. Mindless behaviors are incompatible with success. I know this for a fact. If you make a promise even to your two-year-old, keep that promise. If you break your promise for any reason, make sure you apologize.
- Be punctual – this is a habit worth forming. Punctuality is the key to success. There is nothing like African time, American time, and all that silliness. If you are scheduled to be at a place at a particular time, be there at that time or a few minutes early.
- It’s okay to say ‘no’– part of being a successful person is, knowing your limitations. It could be about going out with friends or taking more assignments at work. Before you commit to anything, make sure you mean it and most importantly, you can perform whatever you are committing to. Another word for commitment is a duty.
- When push comes to shove, what do you do? Do you deny your friends or associates? Do you lie your way out of the situation or do you get carried away by emotion? Pay attention to the way you handle yourself in tight corners. It speaks highly to your integrity.
- Watch your choice of words – whether you are writing via email, text message, Whatsapp, or speaking, be mindful of your choice of words. Make sure you are saying what you meant to say. Be clear about the point you want to make as much as possible. Avoid derogatory, insulting, and dirty language. This applies in professional, business, and social settings.
- Watch the company you keep– two cannot walk together if they do not agree [Amos 3:3- Holy Bible] avoid the company of people who lack integrity. You probably have heard it before, tell me the company you keep and I will tell you what you are. Good or bad, people will judge you by the company you keep.
The good news is that all of the things you need to do to become a person of integrity can be learned. They are not genetic or talents. They are habits. Habits are learned and we are all creatures of habits. Personal development is great because you are the one in charge. You determine what you want to improve and work on it. Integrity is like the glue that