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The word of the month is Honesty.  Honesty means telling the truth about a specific person, thing, topic or subject matter, despite the impact after the discussion.  It is not always comfortable being honest with people who might not be ready to hear the truth. However, being honest is always what’s best.  It is okay to let someone know your honest opinion, just be mindful when doing so to use tact, compassion and empathy.  Sometimes, you can change someone’s life in a positive way, by being honest with them; especially if what they are doing is detrimental to their health, safety or well-being. 

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Honesty is about being truthful, open and transparent in your communication with yourself and with others.  We should be honest with ourselves about how we feel, how we think, what we do and why we do what we do.  We should also be honest with each other about how we feel, what we think, what we do and why we do what we do as well.  Most people who are not honest, are not honest because they feel that they will be judged or disliked by others.  Despite how other people might feel about your honesty, honesty is always better than not telling the truth.

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When you lie, you have to remember the lie and you risk the possibility that others will find out the truth.  You have to carry the guilt of the lie, so it's better to be honest.  Sometimes, people are afraid to be honest, if they believe that the truth will hurt someone's feelings.  In my opinion, the lie usually hurts more than the truth will hurt.  In a relationship or friendship, sometimes you can recover faster from hearing the truth, even if the truth hurts.  It takes much longer to recover a relationship or friendship after being told a lie, or you might not recover at all.   

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Despite how much the truth might hurt, we should always be honest, especially with ourselves.  There are some people who don't like hearing the truth, because it means that he/she has to take action as a result from knowing the truth and he/she might not be ready for the action that they have to take, i.e., what are you going to do with that information now that you know the truth?  Taking action could mean correcting wrong behavior, leaving a situation, dealing with an illness, and/or confronting the person who told the lie and some people might not be ready to take any of those actions.  However, we cannot avoid the truth forever.

 

Being honest means that what you say and do can be trusted.  When you are not honest, people are less likely to trust what you say and do.  When you lie or don't accept the truth you walk through life with blinders on and when the lie is exposed, you are forced to have to remove the blinders, accept the truth, and you don't allow yourself the time needed to adequately prepare for handling the situation.  It is easier to just be honest.  Stand by your truth.  Accept your truth.  Be honest.  A lie will always be exposed eventually, and when it is exposed you will forced to deal with the truth.  So, be honest with yourself and be honest with others.  Lies cause people to carry too much burdened weight.  Honesty holds no weight.  It doesn't cost you anything to tell the truth, but it might cost you everything if you are not honest and the truth is later exposed.  Honesty is the best policy.

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By Bryce Thompson

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