Through change and challenge, if our personal foundations are built with quality virtues of character and integrity, we are more resilient, healthy, and ultimately more impressive.
~ Susan C. Young
Throughout the history of mankind, the virtues embraced by humanity have remained true, unwavering, and consistent.
While many may claim that these virtues are old-fashioned, they are essential materials for building a solid and worthwhile foundation for your life that will never go out of style.
Our modern-day society is often so consumed with external appearances that living a virtuous life may sound boring and dull. However, the love and beauty that lies deep within the human spirit resonates with plain and simple goodness.
Integrity, once tarnished, or broken, is hard to recover.
While having a strong character foundation may not sell newspapers, increase TV ratings, or make a person famous, it's essential for building a life that is meaningful and matters.
Have you ever known a person who was highly intelligent, yet their lack of character destroyed your impression of them? Even though they may have been accomplished, articulate, and knowledgeable, their words became impotent and irrelevant.
Making money and being prosperous is a wonderful place to be, but not at the expense of your ethics, integrity, and reputation. It is simply not worth it. It nixes any chance of creating trusted working relationships.
Authentic people are instantly more likable and trustworthy, which makes building rapport with them a pleasure.
We crave real people and are delighted when we find them.
Own your truths—all of them. Be honest. Be genuine. Be straightforward. Be refreshing!
Allow your natural personality to shine through without pretending to be someone you're not, or you may be stuck with that label forever.
Walking in alignment with your integrity will help you stay on the right track.
There is a reason that the words natural, wholesome, and organic resonate throughout our culture today. Aim to be natural and truly who you are one-hundred percent of the time.
We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to contribute.
Sometimes we meet folks who appear rather plain, yet when they speak from a heart of service, love, compassion, and wisdom, they instantly become respected favorites.
Authenticity is the litmus test for the honesty, transparency, and trust which are necessary for healthy relationships.
Authenticity respects the ebb and flow between positive and negative. The people who really know you will understand that you are not always going to be in a happy place and an occasional bad mood is acceptable.
By authentically sharing when things aren’t right you allow the people you care about to offer the support you may need.
Living in alignment with your true self enables you to cultivate transparency and unshakable authenticity.
Admittedly, there will be times when you must interact on a superficial level and adjust your behavior to fit in, go along and get along.
Not everyone is always going to like you. What impresses one person may turn another away. To thine own self be true.
Interestingly, being yourself allows others to be themselves. Even with crazy imperfections, being a bona fide genuine person is the best any of us can be—messy flaws and all!
Authentic people are so comfortable in their own skins they make us more comfortable in our own.
She is so secure in her beautifully imperfect self that she would welcome you with open arms, no judgment, and complete acceptance.
Do you generally feel uncomfortable around people whom you perceive to be perfect? Is there really such a thing as the perfect person? Of course not! Our flaws are often what differentiates us from each other, and no person is perfect.
I am a recovering perfectionist, and like all in recovery, I do better some days than others!
Authenticity isn’t just about saying “this is who I am”—it is also about being flexible enough to recognize and appreciate the uniqueness in others—honoring the mutual respect for being authentic and true.
Why did I think that the mask was a better portrayal than my authentic self? We can get hidden under layers of illusion, can’t we?
As a young girl, I allowed my self-esteem to be determined by others’ opinions, and I devoted incredible energy tuning into how everyone else felt.
As a lifetime people pleaser, I remember trying to mold myself into the person I thought other people wanted me to be—all for the sake of being liked and accepted. It caused more pain than gain.
Do you really want people to like you for something that you’re not? It takes a lot of energy to pretend to be someone else for the sake of pleasing others.
The challenge of being authentic for people pleasers is that we really want people to like and accept us. Being vulnerable, however, requires that we come to terms with the fact that not everyone is going to like us, and that it is okay. Not everyone needs to like us.
Integrity is a most valued human quality.
Your integrity is your personal code of honor and has the power to build your reputation or destroy it, establish credibility or crumble it—in one swift move.
Your personal integrity, defined as being honest and having strong moral principles, communicates whether (or not) you can be trusted.
Life’s most amazing moments between people are built on trust, communication, acceptance, and love.
The days of the pushy salesmen and self-serving narcissists are over. That type of behavior quickly alienates and pushes people away because it offends and can’t be trusted.
People must believe that you are real and are who you say you are, otherwise they will not want to do business with you, much less make the effort to move forward in starting and building a relationship.
When I meet someone who is truly genuine, I am drawn to their personality and find them easier to approach, engage, and interact with. They have no hint of false pretense, nor do I worry about hidden agendas.
