Integrity, my favorite word.

Integrity means to do the right thing even when nobody is watching. It means being honest to yourself and to others. Integrity is so important to the structure of any foundation because without it you cannot keep that structure strong and yet pliable.

We always expect others to be truthful with us, yet we cannot be truthful to ourselves. I see so many people on Facebook that “check in” at gyms and never see results. I myself have not always had integrity when working out or at practice. I was once told if you look like you are working hard then nobody will question it, perception is reality.

I can agree that there is some truth to perception being much like reality, however it will never tell the whole truth and therefore will never be complete reality. Nobody likes being lied to and yet most people would lie to themselves before they lie to someone else. There is even a saying that says “fake it until you make it”, or “believe you are successful and you will be”. These statements lack some integrity. However what I think they are saying is that maybe you haven’t been honest with yourself. Maybe you are enjoying the perception of your success and really you had it the whole time. Sometimes, in an effort to be honest with ourselves, we will just trash talk ourselves and that’s not being completely honest either, is it? You know what you are because you are the only one who controls who you are.

How many of you have asked someone if this (whatever it is) makes you look fat? You expect them to answer you honestly and if they do you feel hurt by their response, no matter what their response is, because you honestly know what you look like in it and either you were fishing for a compliment or you were baiting a pity party. However if you were honest, (NOT SELF DEPRICATING), but actually honest with yourself you wouldn’t ever need to ask that question.

People always want to pull you out of your integrity because they cannot face their own. When I say I feel out of shape, it is not because I’m that girl that constantly thinks she’s fat, it’s because my body didn’t do what I wanted it to do and I recognize I need to work on it…and chances are I’m saying it out loud to keep myself accountable, not for you to tell me I look great. If I say “No thank you, I do not need that sweet treat.”, it’s not that I think that my fitness level will plummet or that I have a weird self-esteem issue, it’s because I have integrity to myself and I’m teaching myself some control. Do I want it? YES! Do I need it? NO!

Integrity means not giving into pressures around you, it means holding yourself accountable for your actions. There is no time to feel bad about what I put into my body, I accept it and do what I need to do so that I don’t feel guilty. Life is too short to worry about that shit.

When you are honest with yourself, you can build a lot of confidence because you never have anything to hide. Other people in your life will try to be dishonest with you in order to protect your feelings, or even to get you to make them feel better for giving into their own indulgence.

Do not go around telling people what you really think of them. That can be more damaging than you know. Some people are not ready emotionally for your honesty. I’m not saying that you should lie to them either, just say nothing or pose the question back to them. They know the real answer.

Perception has a lot to do with integrity. If I perceive the work to be hard it will be hard. Yet if I know it’s hard and I’m willing to put in the work, it becomes easier. If I think I can push a little harder but choose not to, I have to accept that as it is. Sometimes I can accept what I have given and when I can’t I recognize that I have lost integrity in my work out.

Accountability will keep you honest. If you can hold yourself accountable for decisions you made and feel a little humility for your mistakes, you can move forward without guilt. Queue Taylor Swift song, shake it off!

Laugh at yourself, hold yourself accountable, and work with integrity. Be honest about your goals, do you really want to put in the work it takes to achieve your goals? If not, then you need to be realistic about what you really want and achieve that instead. Goals can change but to keep them attainable they must be made with integrity and accountability.