Honesty, while in principle should not be, is perceived as a fickle concept by a lot of folks. We know and understand that being honest is always best, even if the truth is difficult to admit or hear. Still, despite comprehending the altruistic core of honesty, many of us tend to manipulate it to suit our own needs, defeating the entire purpose of being honest in the first place.
I’ve had several unpleasant conversations in my life involving honesty on my behalf. I always try to be and live as honestly as possible, even when I would rather be anything but. These uncomfortable conversations I’ve experienced have become uncomfortable because the other person involved in the conversation equation asked for honesty, but disputed it once it went against their opinions or feelings.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again; don’t ask for the truth if you never wanted to hear it in the first place. It is a common occurrence to associate honesty with hurt feelings, but truth does not take emotions into account, nor does it care if emotions are discounted. I’m not saying being honest automatically means being an asshole, but sometimes, being truthful can seriously piss people off. That doesn’t mean that being truthful is wrong; rather, it means that many people cannot handle honesty no matter what they might think, especially if said honesty goes against their values, beliefs, opinions, etc.
We all preach, demand and ask for truth and honesty, yet so many of us don’t want to hear it when it comes down to brass tax. Being truthful and honest is not always a walk in the park, and in actuality, it’s more awkward than it is joyous.
Don’t use truth as a means to fuel your self-righteousness if you can’t go without being offended by that same truth in the same breath.
Photo by Michael Carruth on Unsplash
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