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Hello Fam! Happy New Week. Welcome to another edition from @cutedicta's corner. If you haven't seen my last article you can check it here, I talked about "PRAISE" how it is a powerful weapon to bring down God's awesomeness in your life.

Today I will be writing about "INTEGRITY"

Building a reputation of integrity takes years, but it takes only a second to lose, so never allow yourself to ever do anything that would damage your integrity.

In life We need to make decisions frequently that shows what we believe in and reveal who we truly are. The most insignificant action we take can have a great influence on our integrity and most especially our reputation.

People have totally thrown their integrity to the dogs because of one little piece of the cake or monetary incentive they may get, to most of us it doesn't really matter what we need to do to make things happen, so far we are going to get a reward for that action, we go all the way to get it done.

In today's world, hardly before we find people who do things right being celebrated rather the headlines are full with stories of rouges who have looted our finances being celebrated. It's a wonderful privileged to work and live with integrity and if these good traits are being appreciated by people our lives and careers will excel greatly.

This article will teach us what Integrity really is, we will also see how we can nurture this trait and maintain it by making right decisions in life.

What Is Integrity?

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Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. Its a character that many of us value in ourselves, and it's one we look for consistently in our leaders. is generally a personal choice to hold oneself to consistent moral and ethical standards.

Simply put, we can say Integrity is when you keep doing things right, even when you are conscious of the fact that you are not being watched by anyone. Also integrity is being truthful to yourself and everything you say, even when you have to face the consequences of the decision you make.

It is important to realize that others pay attention to those you have chosen to associate with, and they will inevitably judge your character by the character of your friends. Inevitably we become more and more like the people we surround ourselves with day to day.

So far we have integrity, we are in a very perfect condition, we are not faced with inconsistent conditions.

Quotes On Integrity

"Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one".

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"Top 15 Things Money Can’t Buy: Time. Happiness. Inner Peace. Integrity. Love. Character. Manners. Health. Respect. Morals. Trust. Patience. Class. Common sense. Dignity".

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"Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity. The greatest problem with communication is we don’t listen to understand. We listen to reply. When we listen with curiosity, we don’t listen with the intent to reply. We listen for what’s behind the words".

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"Living with integrity means: Not settling for less than what you know you deserve in your relationships. Asking for what you want and need from others. Speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict or tension. Behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values. Making choices based on what you believe, and not what others believe".

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Examples Of Integrity:

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Do not let someone else take the blame for something you did.
Do not gossip or talking badly about someone.
Return money that you noticed someone dropped without expecting a reward.
Inform the cashier he gave you too much change back.
Keep your promises even if it takes extra effort.
Never betray a friend’s trust even if you get in trouble.
Go back to a store and pay for something you forgot to pay for.
If someone gives you confidential information, never tell anyone what you know.

Why Is Integrity Really Important?

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Integrity is highly important due to many reasons:

For us to live a life of integrity it means we don't have to spend our time finding answers to questions we ask ourselves. When we trust our instincts to do the right thing all the time, our life becomes less complicated, our entire actions are opened for people to see and be rest assured that we are not hiding anything.

Every one person who trusts you will spread the word of that trust to at least a few of their associates, and word of your character will spread like wildfire. The value of the trust others have in you is far beyond anything that can be measured.

With our integrity intact, we will gain total confidence with everyone around us ranging from our friends, leaders, co-workers, and team members, they can totally depend on us, if we can be responsible for our actions, then we become a renowned figure for people to follow without fear.

People who are endowed with integrity are more likely to be entrusted with big responsibilities and opportunities, why is this? Because integrity goes hand in hand with leadership, people or organizations are very much at ease when they have people they can trust around them. And when you portray integrity, people know they can trust you.

How To Develop And Preserve Integrity:

You can easily destroy integrity worth a lifetime with just a bad decision. Your integrity is what influences your reputation.

That said, you can nurture and preserve your integrity by:

1. Mark out your principles:

If you don't know what you believe in you can't live by principles. So you have to start stating clearly what your core principles are, these principles will ensure you don't compromise on anything no matter the consequences.

2. Examine Every Decision You Make:

People make very bad choice, or do things perfunctorily most times when they feel they are not venerable or being watched by someone. For you to boldly say you have integrity you must be able to make the right choice no matter the circumstances and especially when no one has his or her eyes on you.

You will always know what is good or bad, however, you might need to take time to think in other for you to figure out sometimes. If you feel you haven't made a right choice no cause for alarm just ask yourself these questions, am sure they will help:

1. "If your decision was to be tabled down for the whole world to hear, how will you feel about it? Will you still stand tall no matter the outcome of their reaction?"

2. "Will you be comfortable afterwards, if you make this choice?"

Bear this in mind, it's not only when its convenient that you will exhibit honesty and integrity; you should be able to live by these values all the time, no matter the situation. Even when it comes to making small or big choices, the choices you make when everyone sees you or when no one is around.

3: Embrace Integrity:

Everyone who portrays integrity shows the following traits all the time: they show humility, they are confident, and they have high self-esteem. All these traits are very essential because you might find your self in a Very tight position, whereby making a wrong decision.

Always make sure to develop and build these traits in you, in other for you to have the boldness and strength to choose wisely when the need arise.

More Tips On How To Develop Integrity :

Develop your confidence and self-esteem take time to develop some good character in you. Spend quality time in getting to know yourself, and what you believe, make sure to establish friendships and work relationships with others who portrays integrity, and who will support your decisions.
Stay away from white lies. They may seem right, but tiny lies are still lies. Always tell the truth.
Bear in mind that when you are influenced by fear or disaster, you stand a chance of making a wrong choice. In this challenging time, size the opportunity to showcase who you truly are character wise.
Never show off with integrity: stay humble and down-to-earth, don't look for approval.
Always stay true to your word. Never make promises that you know you can't keep.
Whenever you make a mistake, be sure to take responsibility for your action, and correct the situation in a right way no matter what it takes.

It may seem like people can gain power quickly and easily if they are willing to cut corners and act without the constraints of morality. Dishonesty may provide instant gratification in the moment but it will never last.

"Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.” -

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Hope this helps. Thanks for reading. Hope to see you again in my next article. Stay blessed.