5 ways to identify someone who has high moral standards.
It’s no question that honesty is a trait that people like and cherish… But how can you genuinely determine whether or not someone is honest?
It’s not always the easiest thing in the world, that’s for sure. Unfortuitously, a lot of individuals attempt to fake it, and if you do not know what red flags to watch out for, it will be quite easy for you to be misled by them.
Therefore, in order to assist you in making sense of everything, I have compiled a list of ten qualities that are indicative of a person who has a high level of moral integrity.
1) They never tell lies.
A person’s moral integrity may be evaluated based on how steadfastly they adhere to their core beliefs and the level of difficulty required for them to even contemplate abandoning those beliefs in favor of something less important.
Furthermore, an individual who has a high level of moral integrity is not the kind of person who would lie just for the pleasure of lying. They will never tell a lie, even if something terrible is going on in their lives; in fact, the very idea of lying makes them feel queasy and sick to their stomach.
They will be honest with you and tell you that they just do not have the time to go shopping with you, rather than making up an excuse like “Oh, I’m not feeling well.”
They don’t care that it’s a little issue, especially when compared to other things — it’s not like they’re lying about where the nuclear launch codes are, after all — because, in their eyes, lying is simply… bad. They don’t even care if it’s a minor issue when compared to other things.
2) They do not take advantage of other people in any way.
Because it is, you guessed it, advantageous, a lot of individuals take advantage of other people, particularly those who are not as affluent as they are.
Imagine, for example, seeing impoverished individuals who are starving for money and then selling them a get-rich-quick scheme in order to fleece them dry… or pointing the finger at someone who has made a mistake and making them out to be a villain for the purpose of gaining credibility.
A person who leads a life of integrity would despise this and will categorically reject taking advantage of other people, even if doing so might otherwise result in them becoming wealthy or famous.
Therefore, they are wise enough to avoid getting themselves engaged in public callouts, in get-rich-quick scams, or, if they are a landlord, in charging their tenants rent that is unreasonably expensive.
3) They stick to what they say they will do.
It’s a common belief that commitments should never be taken seriously and should never be kept. On the other hand, those who possess a high level of moral integrity disagree and maintain that they always keep their word when they make a commitment.
They certainly do not make promises to other people in a haphazard and random manner, as a matter of course.
In point of fact, since they are so dedicated to keeping their word, they try to limit the number of occasions on which they make commitments. Why bother making commitments that you know you won’t be able to keep?
It is not important if other people do not recognize and appreciate the respect that they show to their pledges since what is important is that they have fulfilled their obligations on their own.
4) They are willing to accept responsibility for their acts.
No one is flawless, and even when we don’t want to, we might unintentionally cause pain to other people.
One quality that distinguishes those who have integrity from those who do not is that they do not provide explanations. They don’t ask, “What, are you not going to let me make mistakes? I’m just human, after all! alternatively, you might attempt to behave as if it never occurred.
Instead of denying their errors, they own up to them and apologize. And when they apologize, it is not in the sense of “I’m sorry that you’re offended” but rather in the sense that they really mean what they say.
In the end, it’s not as if making errors would bring about the end of the world. And if nothing else, by recognizing that they have made errors, they are giving themselves the chance to gain knowledge from those mistakes.
5) They publicly call out those who are obviously in the wrong.
Someone with moral integrity won’t simply stand there and watch other people do disagreeable things in front of them; rather, they will call them out on it and confront them about it.
And by that, I don’t mean that they’d be eager to inform other people about that person; rather, I mean that they’d make an effort to approach the person who did something wrong and attempt to speak to them about it.
They would first give the person the chance to explain themselves, make an effort to comprehend what the other was saying, and then explain to them why what they had done was inappropriate.
They will only ever employ public call-outs as a last resort, and even then, only if the issue is really so severe and cannot be ignored any longer.
6) They have the ability to empathize
It is true that a person with high integrity has a strong sense of justice, yet this quality cannot be fully realized in the absence of empathy.
The capacity to comprehend and identify with the experiences of other people is what we mean when we talk about empathy. One who has this quality is able to put oneself in the shoes of another person and walk about in them so that they may feel what the other person is going through.
If they don’t have this, they could just choose to disregard the suffering of others, pretend that their problems don’t exist, or just keep holding out hope that everything will eventually sort itself out and vanish.
Because of this, these two principles should be considered together. It compels us, via empathy, to participate and take a position where we are needed the most.
7) We can have faith in them.
This is what I mean when I say that they have such a strong commitment to living by their ideals.
It makes no difference whether there is someone observing them or not since they will always choose the one that is in their best interest. Because they have nothing to conceal, they don’t feel the need to put on an act when there are other people in the vicinity and they are being watched.
If, for example, you set your wallet down near them and then forgot to pick it up, you can be certain that even if it takes you a month to find it and get it back, not a single bill will be out of place when you do finally find it.
To have integrity, one must adhere to their own standards on the inside, and dependability may be achieved via producing consistent outcomes.
When things go difficult, you can always depend on a person with integrity to be there for you and stand by your side.
They have shown that they can be relied on, and you can pretty much always count on them. When the two of you come to an agreement on a topic, they will make every effort to fulfill the requirements that have been set for them.
8) One cannot purchase them.
There may be occasions when we will be put under pressure to give in and compromise who we are in order to get some benefits.
Someone may give a small sum to bypass the line, or they could offer a promotion in return for quiet. Both of these scenarios are possible.
However, by taking these bribes, our integrity is being eroded over time, and each one of them has the potential to come back to bite us at any moment.
People who have a firm grasp on their moral standing are aware of this fact, and as a result, they flat-out refuse to take any form of bribe. They believe that acting in a way that is contrary to their moral code is equivalent to selling one’s soul.
9) They treat each individual with respect.
It’s not hard to form an opinion on those with lower moral standards or who are too different from oneself to comprehend.
However, a person who has high moral integrity understands better than to pick and choose the people they admire since they run the risk of having their own integrity called into question. After all, it is difficult to assert that you have it if you regard the janitor as less than the CEO of the company.
We all lead quite diverse lives from one another, and occasionally the decisions that seem straightforward to one of us may not be so clear-cut for another person.
Therefore, someone with integrity will respect everyone, regardless of their history or position, to the best of their ability, regardless of who they are.
10) They defined the parameters of the relationship quite clearly.
Integrity is not just about what someone does, but also about how they go about doing it.
It is a manner of life that is aware, in which one is unshakeable in their values and unconditional in their service to others.
They do not lower their standards to achieve their goals since they believe this is unacceptable. The destination is not the only thing that matters to a person who has high moral integrity.
A person must always be true to themselves if they want to lead an honest and honorable life. They do not impose, which is when someone dominates another person and forces their norms on them.
They, on the other hand, boldly state their aims and courageously convey the things that they know to be true. This does not always mean that they are isolating themselves, though, since borders are distinct from walls.
A yes is always a yes, whereas a no is always a no.
A person with a strong sense of integrity is continually self-aware while simultaneously being sensitive to the presence of others. This is because having a strong sense of integrity requires one to be attentive to the presence of others.
Final thoughts
Before we can definitely determine the moral fortitude of another person, it may take some time.
People are able to put on a show of being outraged by injustice and immorality at times, but when nobody is around, they may not care much about morality or justice at all.
You have to go deeper than the surface to see who really has integrity. Do they have the same demeanor with a variety of people? When there is no one else present, do they engage in a different pattern of behavior? To what extent can you trust them?
And of course, what are their reasons for doing it?
It is essential to not only recall the what and how of the activities we engage in, but also the reasons behind them. Not for the sake of my own convenience or the acclaim of others, but because it is the moral thing to do.
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