Why Your Integrity is Important to Winning at Life

2020-05-12T07:00:00.000Z

Why is integrity so important to success in life?

Integrity is one of the most important pillars in life because it demands that you hold yourself with honesty and dignity. With high integrity, you are held above reproach. Your integrity is your unseen credit score. It opens doors with people that you work with. People will trust that your word is as good as gold.

Leaders Have Integrity

Abraham Lincoln was a man of great integrity. He earned the nickname "Honest Abe" when he worked as a store clerk in New Salem. Every time he shortchanged a customer by a few pennies, he would chase down the customer to deliver the correct change.

People recognized his integrity and soon asked him to mediate in contests and arguments. According to a person from New Salem, "Lincoln's judgment was final in all that region of the country. People relied implicitly on his honesty, integrity, and impartiality."

As a member of the Illinois legislature, Lincoln took advantage of his reputation for fairness to gain broad popularity. His good name helped win him four consecutive terms in the legislature.

Lincoln was so honest he was respected by his "enemies". When Lincoln won the presidency, his opponent Senator Stephen A. Douglas publicly stated: "You have nominated a very able and very honest man."

Lincoln was so adamant about honesty that his friend Leonard Swett said:

"He believed in the great laws of truth, the right discharge of duty, his accountability to God, the ultimate triumph of the right, and the overthrow of wrong."

The importance of integrity cannot be understated. Integrity means that you are true to yourself. It is one of the leadership qualities that sets you apart. Through ethical leadership, you gain people's trust. Always start by telling the truth, even if it’s difficult. If you demonstrate integrity, people will see your ethical standard and be inspired. Be like Lincoln. Act with integrity.

Importance of Integrity In Keeping Your Word in Business

In the business world, leaders with integrity will always win in the long-run. People will automatically see when there is a lack of integrity. They will eventually see through fraud. People who are not worth their salt will be exposed eventually. It's only a matter of time.

When you create a culture of integrity in your workplace, your team abides by higher moral principles. Honesty and integrity in business will be appreciated and elevated. People will implicitly trust you. They will want to spend time with you. When you value integrity, people know you won't pull a fast one over them. People will prefer doing business with your business you operate with the most important currency: trust.

Let the Truth Shine

The quality of being honest will change how people behave around you. When you have high personal integrity, people will want to spend time with you. They will trust you. When you live with integrity, you become a light that shines in a world full of fakes.

Final Words

The reasons why integrity is important are these: people will trust you, they will follow you, and they will want to do business with you. With high personal integrity, it shines in a world where people are trying to one-up each other. Be a person that other people can trust. Seek long-term victories rather than short-term wins. Think in decades when people are thinking in days. Be a person that people can rely on, and the world will bend in your favor. Integrity always wins.