‘But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’

Simply put; stand behind your words. ‘Walking the talk’ and ‘Doing what I do, not what I say’ seem to have become trite phrases that are discounted. You don’t have to look far to see that much hypocrisy abounds. What is hypocrisy? According to Dictionary.com, it is “the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform; pretense.”

If you believe something—really truly believe it—how can you act in a manner that is contradictory to that belief system? If you are someone seeking authenticity and want to bring alignment to your beliefs and your actions, some of these ideas might work for you.

• Determine what’s most important to you. Not what your parents told you, not what your boss says is true, not what your friends care about, but rather, what matters to you. Make a list of three to five things you deeply, truly care about. Think carefully about this and make sure those things are meaningful.
• Examine where you are in alignment with what you care about and where you need to make modifications. If “kindness” is a key belief for you, and you think you should be kind wherever and whenever possible, watch the way you behave the next time someone cuts you off in traffic. Watch your language around those you live with, or spend time with most often. Watch your thoughts and reactions when you disagree or don’t like something.

In fact, instead of talking, just do what’s right.