Friday, August 26, 2016

It's Easy to be Honest When You Have Nothing to Lie About

The subject of honesty comes up frequently in any substance abuse program. That is most likely because lying and dishonesty is so closely tied to the behaviors associated with addiction. Even after someone might stop using and get clean, being honest can still be a challenge. The key to learning to be honest on a consistent basis has a lot to do with the important concept of integrity

Integrity - the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished – www.dictionary.com



When you are “whole” you are undivided, in one piece, complete.  Dishonest people are fractional, broken, and divided. If honesty is the destination, them integrity is the road that brings you there. If you think about it, it is a lot easier to tell the truth when you haven’t done anything that you feel the need to lie about.  Similarly, the negative choices of today may easily become the lies of tomorrow.   

So keeping mind that striving to live with integrity is challenging but worth the effort, try to complete the following integrity related sentences with your own thoughts and discuss your answers with others:

A time in past when it was important for me to take a stand was….

An aspect of my life today which I will not compromise is….

When I have to bring bad news to someone I care about I…

When other people ask me to join with them in doing something I know is wrong I…

When someone entrusts confidential information to me I…

When I realize that I made a mistake that affects others I…

I earn the trust of others by…

One area in my life that I feel that it is easy to be open and honest about is…

One area of my life that it can be hard to be open and honest about is…

One thing that I could stop or start doing that would help me feel more at peace would be


Choosing the path of integrity may not be easy but it is always rewarding.


No comments:

Post a Comment