The other day I was listening to an old Conor Mcgregor (former Featherweight and Lightweight Champion of the UFC) interview, and noticed something interesting. Not necessarily about McGregor himself, but about winners. 

All winners have one thing in common. 

Knowingly or Unknowingly, winners listen to their inner voice, and obey its guidance. They don't deny their inner voice. 

They have the bravery to follow its guidance and assert themselves upon the world. 

This is a sign of integrity. 

integrity means: 

Integrity is an alignment of body, heart, mind, and soul

Integrity means to be internally whole, and undivided. 

Most people do not live a life of integrity. Which is why they create so much psychological suffering.

When you're in integrity you literally cannot create psychological suffering for yourself. It's simply impossible.

Most people spend their lives stuck in what Psychologist refer to as "social comparison theory".

That is: they define how they are doing based on how they are doing relative to others (e.g., financially, physically, etc.) rather than how they are feeling about themselves.

In other words: they look to others to know how to feel about themselves. 

This is a sign of incomplete psychological development. And also a sign of a person who wishes to fit in and belong at the expense of their own inner wisdom. 

And therefore—they lie to themselves and others. 

Winners don't do this. 

Winners look within to know how they feel, and what steps to take next in their lives. This is a sign of someone who is capable of leading themselves, and others. 

But most people are too afraid to listen to their inner voice, and to be in integrity with it 

They are afraid of not belonging to "the group" (their families, friend group, etc.). 

They prefer to sacrifice their integrity and lie about what they think, what they feel, what they know just to fit in and get along. 

And yes, even a white lie is a lie. 

But what if your group you're choosing to belong to simply isn't right for you?

Here's the thing with lying: one thing all tyrannical states (on the left or the right) have in common is that the individuals that make up that state have little to no integrity. 

They lie. 

I know this because I was born in an oppressive communist country, and I saw how lying devasted our community. 

When I was growing up in Cuba our own neighbors would turn you if they noticed you had more food than they did. 

They did this to get personal favors with corrupt law enforcement officers. 


This lead to a sense of wanting to hide and to lie to others in order to protect ourselves. For many, they couldn't trust members of their own family. Trust (and truth) was nearly nonexistent. 

And the state itself is the collective reflection of the individual. 

Every time you lie you allow yourself to be possessed by the same spirit that's at the core of a tyrannical state. 

Most people have a harsh inner critic that comments on their actions or inactions. An inner bully, if you will. 

If you can start to be in integrity with your own psyche (soul, inner voice, whatever you want to call it), and start to manifest what your psyche is asking of you—and not lie—your own inner voice will get on your side and will start to help you. 

It will shift from an inner bully to an inner coach.

The ego itself is created as a response to the denial of truth—it's a defense mechanism we had to learn growing up to protect our psyche, and to belong at the expense of our integrity. 

But winners don't buy into the ego's stories. 

They are fully in integrity. 

That's in part why someone like Conor McGregor is so polarizing. Love him or hate him, he is who he is. He lives in integrity with his soul—and the Greek word for soul is psyche

The Swiss Psychanalyst Carl Jung once said that the souls of men had a feminine nature to it (and vice versa for women). 

This inner woman (so to speak)—this soul of ours that speaks to us in the language of dreams—falls in love with us and starts to help us when you take on the world. 

And only a warrior has the bravery and courage necessary to assert themselves upon the world and trust their own soul, their own inner voice. 

Only a warrior is capable of being strong enough to set boundaries and a clear vision and outlook to manifest their inner world in the outer world. 

And it is the warrior who has enough inner fortitude to know that even if the whole world rejected you, and you didn't believe any of your thoughts about it, you'd be completely at peace.

Why do you even want everyone to like you? You don't like everyone. 

Nor should you. You have values which you did not pick, and you like people who reflect your values.

Only boldness can deliver us from fear of being rejected and kicked out of the tribe. 

Aligning with integrity, with our souls, is as life affirming of a perspective as you can take. 

In fact, as Jung says: 

Speaking the truth as you understand it is initially stressful, no doubt. Which is why people lie. But in the medium to long term you pay a serious price for lying. 

The moment you speak the truth, you willl feel a burst of energy, of vitality. This is a sign from your own depths that you did something that's in your integrity. 

Always tell the truth. Always. 

In fact, the philosophical quest for truth can be a noble adventure. A quest who's fruits give you the ability to overcome fear, assert yourself upon the world, the ability to see more broadly, the feel more deeply, and to act more courageously. 

To get back in integrity immediately just tell the truth about how out of integrity you are.

Where are you withholding speaking your truth? Make a list: where are you not showing up in truth? 

Are there times during the day will you pretend to be happier or more interested than you actually are? 

Do you ever say things you know aren’t true or don’t truly mean? What are they?