Are you a liar? Integrity or bust!

My previous two blogs identified two of the five core values of a Quantum Leap Thinker: Respect, Accountability, Integrity, Perseverance and Discipline and explored the first, respect. Let’s take a brief look at “Integrity.”

One of the definitions of integrity in Webster’s New World Dictionary goes beyond the obvious meanings of honesty and sincerity. Integrity is defined as ‘‘completeness, wholeness or an unimpaired condition.’’

Architects and builders use the phrase ‘‘structural integrity’’ when referring to the solidity of a building. I feel the same concept can be applied to the solidity of a human being. The greater our personal integrity, the greater our completeness and wholeness.

Integrity means being congruent with what you say and what you do. My father used to say, ‘‘Don’t do as I do; do as I say.’’ He was kidding, but that is exactly how many people operate.

Do your actions match your words? This is the first element of integrity. Do your actions match your values? This is the second element of integrity.

It is deceptively easy to lie. We may lie to protect someone, or so we don’t hurt people’s feelings, or because we think it is for their own good. Lies are told out of fear; lies are told to manipulate; lies are told when we bargain. The reasons we invent for lying are endless.

You may, at this very moment, be thinking that there are in fact necessary lies, little white lies. I’ve certainly told my share. But regardless of how compelling the reasons, a lie is never justified.

Choosing to live with integrity is a private, personal, and powerful choice. Truth is your weapon against Fear, the Great Trickster.