White lies. Gossip. Unkept promises. They all cost you your personal integrity. Here’s how to earn it back. When our words don’t match our actions, we lose a measure of healthy ownership and control over our lives. Careless language undermines our relationships, chips away at our sense of self and decreases our personal power. Words and language patterns are powerful forces of creation. They articulate our reality. They put our dreams and goals out there for the whole world to see. They define our agreements. And they are the cornerstone of personal integrity.
“There is always plenty on man’s pathway; but it can only be brought into manifestation through desire, faith or the spoken word.”- Florence Scovel Shinn
Want to upgrade your integrity and sharpen your truth-telling instincts? Here are some easy ways to get started:
•Identify your triggers. Sit down and think about where you most frequently break promises with yourself and others. Start working on these triggers and challenge yourself.
•Perceive your language patterns. How often do you say yes when you really mean no — when you realize on some level you have no intention of following through on that “yes”? Knowing how you use language in disempowering ways is important information to have as you work to bring more integrity to your language.
•Take small steps toward honesty. Once you can identify where and when you’re not keeping your word, you can make the necessary adjustments toward telling the truth, even in small ways.
•Examine your relationships. If you are afraid others will be offended by your truth, ask yourself if you really want to be spending time with people to whom you have to lie on a regular basis. It may be that for you to get into integrity, you have to do some housecleaning of your relationships.
•Give your word less often. If something is a “maybe” for you, say so, being clear that you are choosing to withhold your commitment until a later time.
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