We’ve all done some stuff we regret.

However, what makes people with integrity so extraordinary is the level of self-awareness they possess, allowing them to learn from their mistakes and grow as a person.

And do you know what’s even better?

They are in alignment with all aspects of themselves. They know who they are, what they want, and which principles they’re building their lives upon.

Here are the 9 things a person with integrity will never be caught doing.

1) Giving empty promises

When you have integrity, you know your limits. You know what’s achievable for you to work on and what’s a non-negotiable element of your personality.

And you make commitments based on that.

If you know you aspire to solo travel the world, you won’t promise your mum you’ll always live next door.

When you catch someone scattering their promises on the wind and forgetting that their actions ought to correspond to their words…

They still have a lot of growing to do before they reach a high level of integrity.

2) Acting in a way that contradicts their words

It’s not just promises, either.

Someone with no integrity will tell you they hate gossiping, just to get excited at the prospect of spilling the tea three days later.

Their behavior goes against their opinions and what they claim to be their values, creating a lot of confusion in their personal relationships.

Integrity is about cohesion. It’s about knowing what you think and owning it, no matter the circumstances. It’s about being unconditionally yourself in both thought and action.

3) Jumping from opinion to opinion

It’s more than okay to change your opinions as you soak in new experiences, surround yourself with new people, and grow through your relationships.

But if you switch between opinions ten times a week – often depending on who you’re currently talking to – it’s a sign your integrity needs some work.

I know someone capable of moving from one radical side of the political spectrum to the other in a span of two weeks. All it takes is enough people to talk them into changing their mind.

A person like that doesn’t have a firm grip on their values, which then means they become easily swayed.

4) Going back on their decisions

Before you make a decision, there’s a whole process going on in the background – weighing the pros and cons, putting the situation into context, and trying to view it from different perspectives.

By the time you reach a conclusion and take action, the decision should be final.

Not so much for those who lack integrity. 

People like that are completely fine changing their mind at the last minute, not thinking through the consequences of their actions, and making impulsive choices that disagree with who they are as a person.

They are so lost within themselves that their decisions are confusing – even for them.

5) Lying and denying

Where there is little integrity, there is a lot of denial. And where there is denial, there is blindness to the value of honesty.

You’ll deny who you are and what you truly want for so long you won’t hear your intuition screaming at you, begging you to be honest with yourself.

And if you’re hiding the truth from yourself…how high are the chances you’ll reveal it to others?

Not very. That’s for sure.

Integrity means truth.

6) Cheating on a partner

I’ve always considered cheating a form of betrayal. It’s not necessarily the act itself that brings the relationship to its knees. It’s the broken promise to choose each other for the rest of your life.

A person with integrity won’t cheat. Period.

They know what they’re getting into when they choose a monogamous relationship and they value the other person’s well-being – as well as their own honor – too much to sacrifice everything for half an hour of fun.

If the relationship isn’t working, they would rather break up and lose the person than have their cake and eat it too.

7) Disrespecting other people’s boundaries

Respect. Yet another inherent part of integrity.

When you know who you are, you’re very aware of the importance of keeping your boundaries in place.

As a result, you respect the boundaries of others, too – even if it inconveniences you.

8) Bringing others down

Want to know what my favorite thing about integrity is?

It’s the love. A person with integrity knows themselves so well that they’ve learned how to thrive in their own skin. Through trial and error, they’ve built up their confidence – and where there’s genuine confidence, there’s no competition whatsoever.

One of the most powerful mindset shifts I’ve ever made was to realize that there is plenty of happiness to go around.

If you want to be a famous author, other authors’ success isn’t something to envy; it’s something to be inspired by.

If you want to become wealthy, you won’t get there by dissing every single person who’d done it before you. You do it by having enough humility to ask for advice.

If you have integrity, you root for others as much as you root for yourself.

9) Doing nothing and expecting everything

Finally, a person with integrity will never be caught doing nothing and feeling entitled to everything the world has to offer.

They know that life won’t hand you happiness on a silver platter. If you coast through life thinking that one day, you may suddenly get the opportunity to finally be happy and successful…

You’ll keep coasting until you fall off the edge of the cliff.

Remember what I said about acting in a way that aligns with your thoughts? It applies here, too. Integrity is the recognition that it is not your desires or dreams that determine the quality of your life. It is the actions and habits that have to follow.

And if you sometimes find yourself dreaming up a perfect future life but not putting in the effort to make it happen, ask yourself: “How would the ideal version of me live life today?”

Got your answer? Good.

Now do exactly that, right here, right now.