Have you ever heard people saying one thing about themselves and then displaying something else entirely?
My friend, Liberty, wrote an article about it, with 7 signs of lack of integrity:
You might hear them tell you how “spiritual” or “religious” they are. Then they throw judgment around like a volleyball.
They gossip more than Mrs. Olsen did on “Little House on the Prairie.” They insult, criticize and look down on their self-righteous noses every chance they get.
You might hear people tell you how much they respect themselves. Then you hear them make self-deprecating comments. You watch them eat nothing but fat and sugar. They drink alcohol excessively.
Or they slide into bed with one person after another after another at the drop of a hat — or a pair of trousers. And perhaps, not being very “safe” about it either.
You might hear people say they’re your friends and you believe they care about you.
But when you’re ill or struggling through a bad time, they’re nowhere to be seen and can’t even be bothered to ring to see how you’re doing.
Or perhaps you hear of people who tell you of their Big Dreams. They go on at length about how they’re going to do this and that, and they make loads of detailed plans that they can’t wait to share with you.
But then, apart from talking about those plans, they never actually do anything toward putting them into action.
You might have a boyfriend who tells you how devastated he was by a girlfriend who cheated on him in the past. He swears up and down that he would never — could never — do that to anyone and then you find out he’s cheating on you, and he’s done it to virtually everyone before you.
You hear people say they hate liars. Yet you have personal experience of the countless times they’ve been dishonest.
You hear people tell you how strong and brave they are, how confident, and then they don’t dare go for that promotion because they’re sure they won’t get it.
Or they won’t stand up to a rude shop owner. They let fear make their choices for them and their insecurity oozes out of every bit of hesitation and questioning.
The Truth Is…
Whatever you say, it’s what you do that will tell the world the truth about who you are.
You may fool people for a while, especially if they’re particularly trusting, or prone to giving people the benefit of the doubt. But in the end, there’s nowhere to hide.
Even if you never said another word, your intentions and your true feelings would be screaming like a banshee.
In the end, everything you do will tell people whether or not you mean what you say. And they will react accordingly.
Are your words and actions in integrity with how you want to be perceived?
This article has been reprinted with permission from Angel RIBO’s LinkedIn page.