The Oxford English Dictionary defines Integrity as “wholeness; soundness; uprightness, honesty“. Integrity is an expression of your True Self, who you are at your core. Therefore standing in your integrity means standing in your Truth, without which you would not be whole.

Let me tell you a secret: Your mind will lie to you often, because it is fed by the ego, but your body will never lie to you. If you learn how to listen, it will always give you clues to underlying beliefs and behaviors you are ready to release, or when you have done something that runs counter to your truth. If you feel uncomfortable in your own skin, either your ego is way too loud and it is time to get onto a spiritual path, or you are already on the spiritual path and you have done something that runs counter to your essential self.

If you ware working on finding your spiritual path, you are probably suffering from low self-esteem. Integrity is the driving force behind doing estimable acts; therefore, acting with integrity leads to self-esteem. When faced with options, ask “What is the right thing to do here?” An answer that feels grabby or scrambling, that needs to be justified, is an answer that comes from the ego, and can be discarded; choose against that. The answer that brings you a sense of ease and comfort in your body, even if your head might give you a million reasons why you should do the other thing instead, is the answer that is in alignment with your Higher Self, with your essence, with your integrity. Do that one.

If you are still having problems with this practice, you can ask yourself, “If the people I cared about most were watching, what would I do in this situation?”

Eventually, acting in your integrity will become second nature and you won’t have to think about it as much.