Integrity

Stay true to you. Surround yourself with good.

Have you ever spent the day with yourself? 

How was the company?

The only person you can guarantee you'll have to spend the rest of your living days with is yourself, so it's a pretty good idea to like you. You simply cannot expect anyone to like you, help you or pay you any respect if you cannot do the same for yourself!

I'm not saying love yourself, be arrogant and believe you're the best person in the world, above all others, but you have to be able to stand up in front yourself and be happy with what you see. We all have flaws and weaknesses, but the key to being happy with yourself is knowing what these are and knowing that your are in the process of addressing those that can be addressed. It's so important to have self-respect, to believe in your own moral code and be able to positively reflect on your actions.

Once you have established yourself and what is important to you, the next step is to stick to it. As humans we are pack animals, and we are always desperate to conform, an while it is important to be social and respected, its useless if this comes to the detriment of yourself. There are times in life when people ask things of us that we are not happy with and at these times its vital that you're able to say no and move on positively. Can you change the request so you are happy with it? Can the same be achieved without straying from your moral code? Where does the difference in our ethics lie?

If you find you're having to ask those questions more often than not, the question you must first ask yourself is "Are these people really right for me?" If you're having to constantly adapt yourself to make people happy, are these the kind of people that you need to be around? What are they bringing to you? Do they add to your life, or simply take away from it?

Quality people, people that are a match for you, should give and take in equal measures. They should respect you for your integrity if you don't flex your morals and standards and should enrich the time you spend with them, not simply use you a source of energy for them to drain or do the things they won't because you have a looser moral code.

If you like something, why would you let someone change it? So make sure you like yourself, you stay true to that and you only take positive, progressive elements from people, not the negative, degrading ones.

Integrity is the maintenance of your ethics, morals and standards, regardless of external influence.