The Importance of Being Honest
Posted on Monday, July 5th, 2010
On the off chance that you enjoy playing mental catch-up to make up for the lies you tell yourself and others, there’s no need to keep reading. However, as this article is about how important it is to be honest to those you know, including yourself, let’s forge ahead in the spirit of truth and learn some tips for capitalizing on the vital link between our self esteem levels and honesty.
While there are the “little white lies” that seem socially acceptable, the fact of the matter is that any lies quickly blow out of proportion if relied upon overmuch. On the other hand, when you’re regularly dishonest with yourself about what you observe, there’s little hope of ever having a clear picture of the world around you. This can affect you in numerous ways.
People routinely ignore their inner voice’s good advice and tell themselves lies like “This is probably safe,” or “It shouldn’t hurt anything,” and a habitual behavior pattern eventually develops. As they are not used to trusting their own judgment, those who rely on lying have a difficult time learning to even test out their own decision making capacities and learn from setbacks. In time, this lack of practice actualizing innermost desires and making changes may lead to a sense of ineffectiveness. This is not good for self esteem, and often, neither are the results constant lies have on our relationships.
Being honest at work, home or in school first and foremost depends on your ability to tell yourself the truth about where you’re headed and where you’ve been. If you can face the facts of whatever situation you’re currently in without feeling down because you were responsible for getting there, you can take control of your life starting with your emotions. Never assign blame. Accept circumstances honestly, and it will be much easier not to berate yourself about them, because taking things as they come is the only way to find a beginning point for improvement.
Read more from Mark McCool at the Live Smart 360 blog.