In a separate post, I wrote about Living Your Best Life and how understanding and knowing your personal values is a key ingredient to living your best life. I also shared the following snippet from James Patterson’s Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas.

“Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends, and integrity. And you’re keeping all of them in the air. But one day, you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls… are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered.”

Here, I’m going to explore one of the balls I write about in Are You Living Your Best Life that is metaphorically made of glass – Integrity. One that you don’t want to drop because it is made of glass. If you drop integrity it can become scuffed, nicked – or even shattered.

So… what is Integrity, and how do you live with integrity?

Personally, integrity is one of those values that ranks extremely high on the list for me. Simply put, integrity means being honest. It is with integrity that you build trust, and without trust there can not be an authentic relationship with anyone including yourself. Integrity – trust – comes with the relationship you have with yourself, as well as the relationship you have with others both personally and professionally.

When you live with integrity, you live your best life. You respect yourself by living in a manner which is consistent with your values, purpose and goals.

Have you ever heard the saying “be true to yourself“? Having integrity means just that… being true to yourself. In order to do this, you must truly know yourself and your personal values. Be honest with yourself, and stay strong within your own moral principals. Honestly reflect – are you being true to yourself? Don’t jump to answer this question too quickly. It’s an important one. The answer can be very powerful. If in any way, you find that you are not being completely true to yourself and your own personal values, it’s time to renovate… time to refresh the areas in your life that are disconnected to your values. Doing this can be very freeing. It can – and will – attract positive experiences in a way you could not have imagined.

I sum up Integrity as:

• The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
• Having integrity means you are true to yourself and would do nothing that dishonors you.
• Doing what is right even when challenged.

“With integrity you have nothing to fear, since you have nothing to hide. With integrity you will do the right thing, so you will have no guilt.” ~ Zig Ziglar