Being honest and having strong moral principles isn’t necessarily easy, but it’s always worthwhile. Life is easier when you live with integrity and authenticity. Other people realize that they can trust you, and that trust is useful, even if it isn’t easily earned.
Acting with integrity and authenticity is harder in the short-term, but invaluable down the road. Life steadily gets easier when you act with integrity and authenticity.
Check out these 9 action-oriented tips to live your life with honesty and integrity:
- Work on your personal growth. Developing yourself is an effective way to strengthen your integrity. When you grow positively as a person, you become more comfortable with yourself and feel less need to be inauthentic and play a role you’re not suited for.
- Be reliable. Be on time, avoid canceling appointments, and do what you say you’re going to do – simple, but not always easy. If you say that you’ll deliver your report by noon on Friday, ensure that it’s done on time. It’s easy to be reliable if you under-promise. Make promises you know you can keep and you’ll never disappoint anyone.
- Be honest and authentic with yourself. Before you do or say something, question why you’re doing it. What is your real, authentic purpose? Are you being self-serving at the expense of others, or are your motives more honorable? Self-awareness is a primary (and essential) component of integrity.
- Be gentle, but be honest. Do the people you associate with and spend time with believe that you’re an honest person? Do you lie to be comfortable, to pretend that you’re something you’re not, or to “fake the funk”? Honesty isn’t a license to be brutal – telling a coworker that she’s fat or that her husband looks like a troll might be honest, but these kinds of hurtful statements won’t encourage anyone to celebrate your honesty.
- Live by your values each day. If you’re unaware of – or simply not living into your authentic values – now would be a great time to figure them out and list them for yourself. Knowing your authentic values makes it easier to make decisions. It also makes your behavior more predictable, which makes others more comfortable. Know your authentic values and live them each day.
- Be willing to say no. When you say yes to things you don’t want to do, you’re not demonstrating integrity or authenticity. You don’t have to take part in every opportunity that’s presented to you. Valuing your time is smart. Be honest and authentic and say no when you mean it.
- Be more confident. Confident people are comfortable with themselves and their lives. Comfortable people are better able to act with integrity and authenticity. A lack of integrity or authenticity is often a response to discomfort.
You’re not comfortable meeting your new girlfriend’s / boyfriend’s parents, so you fake a conflicting appointment. You lack the confidence to give a speech at work, so you stay home “sick.”
The more uncomfortable you are each day, the more likely your integrity or authenticity will be challenged. Confidence and self-esteem are the answer, and if you work on both each day, you’ll find it easier to act with integrity and authenticity more consistently.
- Work on your personal growth. Developing yourself is an effective way to strengthen your integrity. When you grow positively as a person, you become more comfortable with yourself and feel less need to be inauthentic and play a role you’re not suited for.
- Be reliable. Be on time, avoid canceling appointments, and do what you say you’re going to do – simple, but not always easy. If you say that you’ll deliver your report by noon on Friday, ensure that it’s done on time. It’s easy to be reliable if you under-promise. Make promises you know you can keep and you’ll never disappoint anyone.
Live your life with integrity and authenticity. It appears to be a more challenging way to live on the surface. But living with integrity is easier in the long run. You’ll be more respected and experience more success in every area of your life.
