It seems that we all have grown too accustomed to settling for
being told ‘half-truths’ that are obviously designed to deceive. Politicians are likely at the top of the
list of ‘half truth’ tellers but ‘half truths’ are also featured regularly on
our nightlight news, radio ads, commercials, the internet and even many
companies sales reports.
Here are just a few of the obvious ones: ‘Clinton didn’t
inhale’, ‘You can keep your doctor’, ‘The Republicans will roll back Obama
care’, ‘Peta really cares about the animals’, ‘1 out of 10 people are gay’,
‘The Polar bears are drowning’ and ‘Iran can be trusted.'
The problem with any ‘half truth’ is that they are actually whole lies.
Telling lies makes you a
deceiver and a liar.
Lying is a
character flaw that in the past would mark you as being untrustworthy. Unfortunately, lying has become such an
acceptable art form that we actually repeat these half truths and admire people
that can use words in such a way that they appear to be saying one thing while
hiding the actual truth. The use of
ambiguous language that conceals the actual truth should actually be a
character flaw, not an admired trait.
The problem with ‘half-truths’ is that they contain
enough truth that they can misrepresent fact and are meant to deceive. Deception has become so common that we
actually re-elect, befriend and even admire those that deceive so often they
could be considered compulsive liars.
Fortunately, studies have shown that companies that are
known for integrity and transparency and are known to be trustworthy actually
do better than their peers. Couples that
are honest with each other tend to stay together, remain married rather than
divorced and will have fewer financial problems than their ‘half-truth’ peers.
Regardless of how
common deception and ‘half-truths’ are in society, Integrity is likely the
single most important character trait you could ever embrace. Integrity is soul deep and provides the
moral compass that actually will ensure long-term success and happiness in
life.
Integrity is a catalyst for other important virtues as
well. Virtues such as kindness,
generosity, courage, responsiveness and even good work habits are locked-in by
the embrace of honesty and integrity.
Embrace integrity.
Integrity today actually is a wonderful way to differentiate your
business and your relationships with your friends and coworkers. When you are known for your integrity it
becomes more and more difficult for others to convince you that their
half-truths are not actually lies.
